Source: http://www.timesonline.co.uk Rightmove generates most of its revenues from fees paid by estate agents to advertise on its website but an online poll earlier this month showed that more than 75 per cent of UK estate agents are threatening to remove properties currently listed on the Rightmove website.  The survey, by estateagenttoday.co.uk, found that more than three quarters of estate agents are not planning to renew their annual subscription to the site because its fees, which can be as high as £500 a month per estate agent, are considered too expensive.  In August, new listings on rightmove.co.uk were just 106,000, about 25 per cent lower than usually seen at the same time of year.  Rightmove management said that it plans to spend around £1 million on marketing and focus more on national and regional house builders and the growing housing association market. It will also cut back on its continental Europe business.  The company said that the redundancies were in response to the downturn in the UK housing market. Management added: "The scale reflects the Company's view that the current challenges will continue through 2009, though not at any worse level than we have previously indicated."

Source: http://www.mortgageintroducer.com Members of the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) reported that the housing market in September still provided challenging times for its members but that the re-emergence of first time buyers may be the first sign that the recent Government intervention is beginning to work.  The research also showed that the number of sales per agent rose for the first time since January from an average of five sales in August to six in September.  Chris Brown, president of the NAEA, comments: "It is clear that certain factors are in motion within the property market, with a decision being made on stamp duty last month, but this is still not enough. As property prices continue to drop the Government needs to take action and make some drastic changes to restore confidence. "It is evident from the results that despite some positive indicators, consumers are still cautious with many continuing to adopt a wait and see attitude and are only moving if it is necessary. Those who are not desperate to move are staying put in their homes and waiting for some stability to be restored across all sections of the market.  "First time buyers however, seem to be returning. This is most likely due to the Government's decision on stamp duty last month. Whilst the announcement is not applicable to all regions across the UK, it might have had an affect on this market group. For those first time buyers who have the correct finances in place, now is the perfect time to buy a home. However, the NAEA continue to urge the Government to review the market holistically and offer this group a stamp duty holiday."

Source: http://www.independent.co.uk The Bank of England's latest data showed "negative" net lending of £700m - the first such instance since its records began in 1993. The Treasury eventually announced it would lift the stamp duty thresholds from £125,000 to £175,000 in a bid to revive the housing market.  Mortgage approvals crept higher from 32,000 to 33,000 in September, but show little sign of recovery from the record lows of August. Banks lent a net £2.2bn in September, but this remains well below the £3.5bn average of the past six months.  Experts said the figures reinforced pressure on the Bank of England to slash rates by at least another 0.5 per cent at its next meeting.  Howard Archer, chief UK and European economist at Global Insight, said the data suggested the downturn in the housing market "still has a long way to run. To put the figures into perspective, total mortgage approvals of 98,000 in the third quarter of 2008 failed to match the total of 101,000 in September alone in 2007," he said.  Vicky Redwood, economist with Capital Economics, added that the figures were consistent with house price falls of up to 25 per cent, compared with the 13 per cent seen so far. "With credit still restricted, potential buyers will find it hard to get a mortgage. Meanwhile, lenders have not passed on October's rate cut in full to new mortgage rates," she said.  The number of remortgages grew to 72,000 from August's low, but the number of loans secured on homes for other purposes shrank by 2,000 to 37,000.  This marks a further fall-off in the trend of borrowers increasing the size of their mortgages with the same lender - used for home improvement or a new car for example - as property prices fall.  The Bank's figures also reveal a sharp fall-off in consumer credit with just £300m lent during September on a combination of tighter lending criteria and consumer caution as the economy sours.

Source: http://www.homesandproperty.co.uk There will be one huge glamorous hole in the ground to fill - if demolition is allowed. Probably the biggest opportunity the area is ever going to have to put up the poshest property in town. There will be bids going in for the 999-year lease on their former home said to be easily worth £500 million, even in these recessionary times.  The Candy brothers have confirmed their interest in the building. West End property agent Cushman & Wakefield is handling the sale, though any deal requires the approval of the US Congress. At present, the 50-year-old embassy occupies the entire western side of the square and is held on the 999-year lease, granted in the Fifties by freeholder Grosvenor Estate. From the outset, the building was controversial. Designed by Finnish architect Eero Saarinen in "modern imperial style", it is a hard contemporary presence in a mainly Georgian and neo-Georgian neighbourhood. Pretty townhouses on Mayfair's Charles StreetFollowing 9/11, ugly makeshift barricades around the embassy sparked a dispute with well-heeled, well-connected local residents, who complained that the fortress environment patrolled by armed police made them a terrorist target.  The embassy is not listed, which will help any redevelopment proposal. If demolition is ruled out, converting the building into luxury flats would be a complex architectural challenge as three of the embassy's nine floors are underground. For this reason, a hotel or office development, or perhaps a mixed scheme including residential, may emerge as favourite.  The area has been moving back to residential since the mid-Nineties, and to date more than 250 office buildings have become homes. Some property experts question whether the time is right to bring forward such a scheme, arguing that the super-flats bubble has been burst by the credit crunch. But as the embassy move to Nine Elms is to take up to five years, the thinking is that the property market will be very different, and probably very active and upward. Mount Street is a fashionable neighbourhood hubNew flats in a scheme called The 21st have been built above Cipriani restaurant on Davies Street and coming soon is the biggest residential project for a generation: 39 flats in a mixed-use redevelopment of Park House, opposite Selfridges. Today, Mayfair is less the hushed enclave of the shy wealthy and more a conspicuously fashionable, even blingy, place. Grosvenor itself has a wider strategy for Mayfair. The estate is keen to acquire buildings that it sold off during the post-war period and cultivate new neighbourhood hubs, such as revitalised Mount Street, with its upmarket fashion boutiques, where retail rents have tripled since 2005. Another pocket earmarked for improvements is the area around Brown Hart Gardens, by Duke Street. At the moment, this is one of Mayfair's less salubrious parts, backing on to Oxford Street and with a collection of artisans' dwellings (Peabody flats). Brown Hart Gardens itself is one of the capital's secrets, a raised public space built above an electricity sub-station and "fenced" by classical stone pillars and listed domes. This lowest-value part of Mayfair is an area to watch.  Though Mayfair is one of the few places in central London where the super-rich can find a grand town house with servants' quarters, there are plenty of less-opulent homes including mansion flats and mews cottages, even a few ex-council flats. Prices start at about £500,000 for a small pied-â-terre.

Source: http://www.findaproperty.co.uk In a sign of our financially troubled times, Nationwide Building Society has announced a three-year partnership with Citizens Advice to provide training on monetary matters across the UK.The Society is investing £3 million to fund the recruitment and training for 1,300 volunteers who will then be able to offer 'pro-active financial education work' in conjunction with Citizens Advice Bureaux throughout the UK.Statistics from Citizens Advice show that: *Money is the number one problem faced by people who approach them for help. *Last year, Citizens Advice dealt with 1.7 million debt problems, equating to 6,500 problems each working day. *Just 185 of the 426 member bureaux were involved in financial capability work in 2007. *Only 100 of the total volunteer force of 21,000 provide this service in Citizens Advice offices.  Maxine Taylor, director for corporate affairs at Nationwide, says: "The rising cost of living and the current economic situation are taking its toll on consumers. We are proud to be partnering with Citizens Advice and to be able to increase their capacity to support the community." David Harker, Chief executive of Citizens Advice, comments: "Volunteers are absolutely critical to the success of the Citizens Advice service. We're delighted Nationwide has committed to working with Citizens Advice to give over 400 bureaux the opportunity to create a step change in volunteers' involvement in financial capability work.Nationwide's support means that bureaux will be able to reach hundreds of thousands of clients in their local communities with financial education sessions and advice on money matters."