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28 May 2020 / Veronica Cowan
Issue: 7888 / Categories: Opinion , Profession , Property , Conveyancing
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The home front

21526
COVID-19: Lockdown liberty? Veronica Cowan reports
  • Steering stimulus: confidence boosting measures.
  • Release reaction: agents taken by surprise.
  • Vagaries of video viewings: not quite lift-off.
  • Urban sprawl versus coast and country.

Estate agents, conveyancers and surveyors won’t be breaking open the champagne just yet. Despite the government’s loosening of restrictions on home sales, things could change if it became necessary to re-impose a pause on house moves. There is also concern that the appetite, or financial ability, for moving might have been diminished, along with reports of some buyers reducing offers agreed before the shutdown.

Steering stimulus

Against this background, the government will face renewed pressure to cut stamp duty to stimulate the property market and Hew Edgar, head of UK government relations at the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors reports that, following its call on the government to explore confidence-boosting measures for the residential market as it reopens, its member survey data suggested its proposal for a stamp duty holiday would boost transactional activity, helping people move home.

Meanwhile,

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Walkers—Muriel Marseille

Walkers—Muriel Marseille

Ashurst's Chief Risk Officer joins Walkers

Excello Law—John Osborne

Excello Law—John Osborne

Northern family lawyer John Osborne joins Excello

mfg Solicitors—Rebecca Rogers, Kennedy Langley & Victoria Griffiths

mfg Solicitors—Rebecca Rogers, Kennedy Langley & Victoria Griffiths

Trio of promotions announced at Kidderminster law firm mfg Solicitors

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The Court of Appeal has reinforced that domicile depends on intention rather than residence alone, in a significant post-Brexit ruling on cross-border financial remedy claims
The Chancery Division's long history comes to an end this autumn as it is reborn as the Business and Property Division, prompting questions over whether the shake-up is really necessary
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) continues to show that failing to disclose regulatory issues can attract harsher consequences than the original misconduct itself
Rejecting a generous settlement can prove an expensive mistake, as two recent high-profile cases demonstrate
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