News

Rightmove strikes deal with Google

Friday 29th January 2010

Rightmove has done a deal with Google maps, ahead of Google's own launch into the UK property online market.

The deal, announced yesterday with immediate effect, takes the property internet to a new level, with the two huge players now literally on the same page.

The deal also ends speculation as to whether Rightmove would co-operate with Google on a 'if you can't beat them, join them' basis. As a result of the deal, Rightmove becomes one of the largest users of Google maps in Europe.

From yesterday, Rightmove properties are now placed on a Google map on each 'detailed view' page.

However, the application will be expanded over the next month so home-hunters will be able to see initial search results plotted out within their search area – just as they will be able to do on the Google property mapping service.

Google's own offering, expected to launch in the UK in the first quarter of this year, is likely to be a search engine based on its maps. Property searchers would then be diverted to the agent's own website in order to see property details. The facility would be free for agents.

The Rightmove deal appears to try to head off this potential threat, relying on its own brand for property searchers, who would not only see the mapping but also the details of several properties – all on one site, as Rightmove does not divert to agents' own websites.

Rightmove has been running a new TV ad campaign and attracted over 1m visits in a single day for the first time this Monday.

A Rightmove spokesman told Estate Agent Today: "Google are about to launch their own UK real estate offering, which will be based on maps. Rightmove can now offer something quite similar.

"However, we have two very different business models: Google is a search engine, and users will click through on each property to the agent's own website. On Rightmove, users can see everything they want, all in the same place – not just the location, but the complete property details.

"We also liked the Google maps because they are the best maps around. They're clear and easy to view."

Sanjay Patel, of Google Enterprise, said: "With this technology on their site, Rightmove will be able to provide property searchers with a faster, more accurate and more comprehensive mapping system to help them find that perfect home even more efficiently."

Buy to let now a rich man's game

The buy-to-let market is now so inaccessible to the average investor that only the wealthy can afford to be become landlords, says an RICS.

Barriers to entering the buy-to-let market, driven by interest rates and levels of rental cover ratios for mortgages; have made investment an unattractive proposition for vast swathes of the population.

In the current climate, would-be-investors need to lay down a deposit of £65,600 (30% of a property's value) for the average UK house in order to get a foothold on the buy-to-let ladder.

This compares dramatically with the £10,100 (only 8% of a property's value) required in Q1 2002 - a deterioration of over 500% in 5 years.

Going forward, with evidence that rents are rising strongly and house prices predicted to remain flat in 2008, the yields on residential property could increase slightly in coming quarters.

With interest rates also likely to fall, the deposit required to meet the rental cover ratios could be reduced somewhat, making buy-to-let a more attractive proposition for many.

RICS senior economist David Stubbs commented:

"It takes more capital than ever to set up a buy-to-let investment.

"Would-be investors who have missed out on the impressive returns of previous years are now finding the hurdles to property investment are higher than they imagined.

"However, existing landlords should be able to use the equity in their past investment properties to fund the deposit needed for new ones, and this should ensure that demand from the buy-to-let sector does not dry up entirely."

Home Information Packs - Latest News

22nd November 2007

Hips home packs get full roll-out

Source: BBC News

Home information packs (Hips) will be required for all properties being sold in England and Wales from 14 December, the government has announced.

Since September, all properties with three or more bedrooms have required a Hip before they can be sold.

The packs have proved controversial, with many critics claiming that they have made it more difficult and expensive to sell property.

The government insists the packs are bringing benefits to consumers.

The average cost of a Hip is between £300 and £350.

Green rating

Hips and EPCs are already helping consumers to save hundreds of pounds off their fuel bills and are cutting search costs too.

Housing Minister Yvette Cooper said the roll-out of Hips would help first-time buyers by providing them with more information.

Energy performance certificates (EPCs) will give homes an efficiency rating of A - G.

Buyers whose homes score badly will receive extra help from the new Green Homes Service announced this week by the prime minister.

"Hips and EPCs are already helping consumers to save hundreds of pounds off their fuel bills and are cutting search costs too," said Ms Cooper.

"All home buyers will be able to benefit from energy efficiency advice, with those receiving low green ratings of 'F' and 'G' especially targeted for support and grants," she added.

For the Conservatives, shadow housing minister Grant Shapps criticsed the decision, saying it would make buying and selling houses "more costly and bureaucratic".

"This latest move will dismay hard-working families, because it increases instability in an already fragile market," he said.

"Rather than burdening people with yet more red tape, Gordon Brown should have the courage to abolish what is widely regarded as a flawed and ineffective law."

Leasehold problems

The decision to extend Hips to all properties follows an independent review carried out by Europe Economics.

This found "no evidence of any impact on transactions or prices" beyond a "predicted" and "marginal" short-term impact on new listings.

The report also concluded that any delay to the planned roll-out due to "changing housing market conditions" would cause "greater market difficulties and uncertainties".

But the government acknowledges the owners of leasehold properties have faced difficulties.

In some cases it has been difficult to obtain leasehold documents quickly, and "disproportionate charges" have on occasion been requested.

At the moment sellers must commission a Hip before they can put their property on the market, but have a 28-day window for it to be finalised.

The government has now said it will extend for six months the current exemption which lets leasehold documents be provided after the 28-day deadline.

It will also delay the introduction of new rules meaning a property cannot be put on the market until the Hip has been completed.

This change had been due to take effect on 1 January 2008, but will now not apply until 1 June 2008.

'Between a rock and a hard place'

The government's decision to extend Hips has been criticised by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics).

Rics and the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) believe the introduction of Hips has already reduced the number of larger properties on the market.

Rics housing spokesman Jeremy Leaf argues widening the scope of the scheme will have a negative effect on those people trying to get onto the property ladder.

"Rolling Hips out to one and two-bed properties could find first-time buyers caught between a rock and a hard place as accessibility to the market would go off the scale," he said.

"If the Housing Minister genuinely wants to improve the plight of first-time buyers, she should not continue with this flawed policy," he added.

But the extension has been welcomed by the Association of Hip Providers (AHIPP).

"The independent research by Europe Economics dispels suggestions by RICS and NAEA that Hips are having a detrimental impact on the market place," said AHIPP deputy director general Paul Broadhead.

"Hips are here to stay. We can now build upon this foundation and really revolutionise the market for the benefit of the consumer and the industry," he added.

HIPs - Who needs one?