The new coalition government of the UK have decided enough is enough and suspended use of the Home Information Packs (HIPs) by home sellers.

There was a lot of skepticism when the HIPs were made law back in 2007.  It was very confusing as on the one hand you had home sellers paying upfront several hundred pounds for these Home Information Packs with no guarantee of being able to sell their home; whilst on the other hand potential property buyers ended up gathering the same information to satisfy the requirements of their mortgage lender.  It appears that common sense has now prevailed. 

So what next for the UK housing market?  Well, it means that sellers don’t have to pay upfront for these packs and it enables them to test the market without this extra cost.  The National Association of Estate Agents are happy with the decision; however the biggest beneficiaries should be the private house sale websites.  It should be encouraging news not only the existing property listing websites, but also potential new entrants to the arena giving consumers a wider range of choice something that has been championed of late by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT).  It may also allow potential house sellers to try out an alternative approach to the traditional estate agents.

The hope is that the removal of the HIPs will not only get rid of needless red tape bureaucracy, but will now help to kick-start the housing market.

The global credit crunch affected the availability of mortgages.  This has given rise to the so called ‘reluctant property landlords’ in the UK.  These are the individuals who, prior to the financial downturn, were considering selling up and moving home.  So instead of buying new property they decided to move into rental accommodation.  The domino effect was for these people to fund their move by renting out their house or flat.  This has caused a surge in demand for properties available for rent.

So why did they decide to move and not just sit it out?  There could be a whole host of reasons why.  It could be that they needed more space and thus bigger property, relocation due to a new job or even downsizing.  Whatever the reason, it caused a surge in UK property available for rent.  There is still no clear sign of any consistent movement in the UK housing market.  One month there are more properties being made available to buy, this is followed up by a decline in the number of properties for sale. 

With the UK General Election just round the corner it’s clear that many are sitting tight to see who gets elected and how it will effect the UK economy as a whole.   Based on recent UK economic data it’s apparent that the green shoots of UK recovery are there.  However, how sustainable it is remains to be seen.

There have been a few UK property surveys out of late which have either shown the most exclusive and expensive property addresses or the cheapest streets to live in Britain.

Does the fact a property can be purchased in a cheap street mean it is a real bargain or does it mean you get what you pay for?  It really depends on what you are looking for when buying a house or flat.  There are many factors to consider when you are purchase UK residential property.  Your own scoring measures will influence whether purchasing a property in one of the cheapest streets in the United Kingdom is a shrewd move.  The criteria will be different whatever your situation with many factors to consider when purchasing UK property.  Looking at the other extreme do the most expensive street addresses in the UK offer real value for money?  Again it comes back to what the decisive factors are for assessing potential property purchases. 

The surveys that show the cheapest and expensive addresses do provide a useful insight into the disparities in UK property prices.  In terms of criteria when searching for houses or flats to buy in the UK your list could include employment levels and opportunities, the standard of educational facilities, transport links and other public services such as hospitals.  However, this is by no means an exhaustive list to take into account when considering the purchase of property.  Everyone will have a differing view on what is more important when considering the purchase or rental of UK property.

For our own free property listing UK service we believe that confidentiality is key when advertising with us.  This applies whether you add a property wanted listing or if you are listing UK property for sale or to rent.

I’m sure you, like us, have countless SPAM emails that you constantly have to sifted out of your inbox and into the trash.  Some days it can be quite tiresome removing this unwanted email traffic.  When we came up with the our property listing website idea we took this into consideration.  It should only take a matter of minutes to upload your free property listing with us.  However, it will not be added to the website until it has been verified.  This enables us to filter out potential SPAM property adverts.  This approach is exactly the same once your property listing has been verified and added to our website.  So should someone be interested in your property advert, they too have to go through the same verification process.

There are plenty of services available where you can upload your own property listing without the use of estate agents.  However, they will vary greatly.  Our own service is essentially a teaser property advert, similar to those displayed in newspapers, the difference being your details remain confidential on the website.  Therefore, you should not receive unsolicited emails or phone calls.  Only when you are willing to receive property enquiries can details be exchanged between the two parties.  This way we believe there is mimimal effort in listing a property advert with us and it’s a great way to test the market.  Not to mention, we do not charge an upfront fee for property adverts, only for qualified property enquiries that have been verified. 

Therefore you should do your research before selecting which website to list your UK property with.  Your property listing criteria should be more than which is the cheapest service; as the saying goes there is no such thing as a free lunch!  Website forms, like those we use, are currently one of the best ways to combat SPAM.  Thus we have ensured our customers are always our first thought when developing our site.

The phrasea picture paints a thousand words is very apt when it comes to property listingswhether you are selling or lettting in the UK. 

Have you searched the web for property wanted either to purchase or rent?  If so, you will notice not only the different property adverts, but also some are without pictures.  I’m not sure about you, but we like to see property photos.  Even if there are only a few available it helps to create the vision.  Is the property of interest?  Could you see yourself living there?  Not only that, but more importantly it gets the imagination going.  What’s the area like?  What would you do to the property if you were the owner?  These questions and many more will no doubt aid your decision as to whether you want to contact the vendor and take a look at the property on offer.  The approach is the same whether you are looking for rented accommodation or a new home.  So why do some property adverts not contain pictures?  Have they had trouble adding them?  Perhaps the thought was to test the market first.

There are a variety of websites where you can sell or let your UK property privately.  Most, if not all, like our own service give you the opportunity to upload photos of property you want to list for sale or let.  Like a business you are competing for customers; so you need to give them every opportunity of showing an interest in your property advert.  A picture really does paint a thousand words, so if you are considering listing your property online ensure you have up to date photos to upload.