Estate Agent Today

Key industry figures have thrown their weight behind the government’s proposals for wholesale change to how we buy and sell houses. Full details of the proposed reforms appear later in this story, but we start with industry reaction. – Chris Rosindale, chief operating officer at Connells Group, says: “We welcome the Government’s commitment to modernising the homebuying process.

The new chief executive of Lomond, Paul Geddes, says he’s looking at “targeted acquisitions” to grow the company. Geddes joins from Evelyn Partners, where he most recently served as chief executive, leading its recent sale to NatWest Group for £2.7 billion. He was fornerly chief executive of Direct Line Insurance Group, where he led the company’s successful IPO and its promotion to the FTSE 100. He also served as CEO of NatWest Group’s Retail Banking division.

Regional property specialist Tori Le Masurier has joined the Moveli brokerage after almost five years with Knight Frank. She brings more than 20 years of experience across residential property, new homes, valuation and development. Most recently, she held the position of Land & New Homes Sales Manager at Knight Frank Bristol, where she was responsible for advising developers, landowners and buyers across some of the region’s most significant residential schemes.

New research reveals that Londoners are bucking expectations with a smoother moving experience than anywhere else in the UK – despite the capital’s high-pressure reputation. London respondents rated their moving experience at 7.47 out of 10 for being stress-free, higher than the UK average of 7.3. In contrast, East Anglians scored their experience as 6.9. The research has been conducted by the Open Property Data Association (OPDA).

There were 445,000 pure interest-only homeowner mortgages outstanding at the end of 2025. This is 17.7% fewer than in 2024. In addition there were 156,000 partial interest-only homeowner mortgages outstanding at the end of 2025, 10.3% cent fewer than in 2024. Lenders’ trade body UK Finance says the total interest-only mortgage stock has reduced by 81% in number and 65% in value since 2012, when the data was first collected.

The government has introduced changes to the home buying process which it claims will “stop sales falling through.” And it says the reforms will also cut buying times by four weeks, save first-time buyers an average of £640 and get the housing market moving more quickly Digitisation, the return of an upfront sales pack at the point of listing, and binding sales agreements are the key elements of the plan. Agents and vendors must provide key information upfront in ‘sales packs’.

The Bank of England has announced its latest base rate decision. As was widely expected the Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) kept the base rate at 3.75% for a fourth consecutive meeting. The UK inflation rate – which yesterday was sticking at 2.8% – remains above target but has not risen as high as many had feared because of the Iran War. Inflation had been expected to rise to 3%.

TV property expert Emily Evans has launched an app which she claims will speed up the home buying process. Her new ‘Home App’ serves as a digital filing cabinet to help manage and organise paperwork at the heart of the home buying process. She says: “Buying, selling and managing your property has become far more complicated than it needs to be.

A conveyancing body says it’s vital to state that convencers are not formal advisers about Stamp Duty liability. HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has issued new guidance for anyone submitting Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) returns on property transactions. The guidance confirms conveyancing firms need to register as tax advisers to obtain credentials required to file SDLT returns and make payments on behalf of clients.

Top-rated agents with review scores of 4.5 stars and above close 2.3 times more property sales than those with lower ratings, it’s claimed. Overall, top-rated agents win 77% more new listings and retain 29% more of them than agents rated below 4.5 stars. That’s the claim from Trusted Agent which is operated by Kerfuffle. Over a period from May 2024 to May 2026, Trusted Agent used ViewAgents’ aggregated review data from Google, Trustpilot, Facebook, Feefo, Yell and other review platforms.