Fixed mortgage rates fall at fastest pace in nearly two years

First-time buyers are set to be key drivers of the housing market in 2026, according to Nationwide, with the lender expecting housing market activity to “strengthen” further. Andrew Harvey (pictured), the lender’s Senior Economist, says: “With price growth well below the rate of earnings growth and a steady decline in mortgage rates, affordability constraints have…

A large estate agency refused to shortlist an 18-year-old woman for a trainee sales negotiator job because her car was “too old”. Haart in Nottingham rejected an application from Alanah Thompson French (pictured) for a lettings agent position as her vehicle was not less than 10 years old. Thompson French owns a 12-year-old Citroen C1,…

Property imaging specialist company Giraffe360 has raised nearly £7.5million in new funding, which it says will finance the next phase of its growth. The company, which has two offices in the UK, is to benefit from ‘Series B’ funds from European firm Cipio Partners. Giraffe360 describes itself as “an AI-powered real estate marketing technology company”,…

Your Move Margate has been sold by Patrick McConnell to LSL Estate Agency Franchising’s (LSL EAF) biggest franchise partner, National Home Move. National Home Move already operates 51 Your Move and 13 Reeds Rains branches throughout Britain. The acquisition has been completed through the LSL EAF branch resale programme, which enables franchise partners within the…

Looking at the wide variation in property prices across our cities, the pattern mirrors what we are seeing regionally. Northern areas are generally performing well, while many southern locations are still struggling to recover to the average prices reached in 2022. Of the 30 cities we analyse: – 12 have higher prices than four years…

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors has begun a six-week public consultation on updating its Home Survey Standard to ensure it remains up-to-date and ‘fit for purpose’. Proposed changes It follows the findings of an earlier survey involving over 325 RICS professionals and more than 1,400 homeowners. It identified six key areas of improvement for…