Howard Peterman

You won’t often hear this, almost a week into December, but: the property market is suddenly waking up. Most years, as we slide into the twelfth month, activity slows down noticeably. Sellers delay thoughts of moving until January, buyers get distracted by festivities, and agents focus on chasing those few final exchanges before the solicitors […]

  TL;DR – The Autumn Budget 2025 at a glance: After all the rumour-milling and second‑guessing, Rachel Reeves finally stepped up to deliver her Autumn Budget on Wednesday. A series of leaks and reversals in the weeks and months leading to this moment might have left us all feeling trepidatious about what was coming. That,

The Autumn Budget 2025 is fast approaching, falling later in the year than any Autumn Budget I can recall. Perhaps the Chancellor pushed it back towards the end of the calendar year in the hope that the economic outlook might have improved over time? Or maybe she hoped that the national mood, buoyed by thoughts

The government has confirmed when the first stage of the long-awaited and newly passed Renters’ Rights Act will come into force: 1 May 2026. While the announcement brings clarity on when reforms begin, it still leaves many in the sector, as well as many landlords, questioning how the transition will work in practice. What Phase

For months, maybe years, headlines have painted an increasingly gloomy picture of the UK’s buy-to-let market; landlords leaving in droves, margins squeezed, regulation mounting. Yet look closer and a different story emerges: one of renewal. The baton is being passed to a new generation. Recent research from Hamptons reveals that Millennials now account for around

The government has published its ‘Guide to the Renters Rights Act’ on 6 November 2025, whilst noting that – as of November 2025 – they are yet to issue a timetable for implementation. In its opening paragraph, the guide states the following: “The Renters’ Rights Act delivers our manifesto commitment to transform the experience of

After years of debate, delay and political ping-pong, the Renters’ Rights Bill has finally crossed the finish line. It received Royal Assent on 27 October 2025, officially becoming the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 – the most significant reform to the private rented sector in almost four decades. But despite the headlines, nothing changes immediately. The

Rightmove’s latest House Price Index was released this week, and it paints a picture of a housing market that’s neither surging nor sliding – on a national basis, at least. Across the UK, the average asking price has edged up by 0.3% in October to £371,422, a fairly modest rise, but one that in many

The last government’s Help to Buy scheme ended in 2023 – a scheme that allowed buyers (by the end, first-time buyers only) to purchase property with smaller 5% deposits topped up by a government-backed loan – and so far it is something which the current government has not chosen to revisit. Now, however, and ostensibly

The government has announced new plans to reform the way homes are bought and sold in the UK — aiming to shorten timelines, cut costs, and reduce the number of failed transactions. At first glance, it all sounds positive. Faster, fairer, clearer, and not least, cheaper… I hesitate to use the term ‘buzzword’, but as