There has been plenty of talk over recent years surrounding the affordability issues within the UK property market.

While house prices continue to rise and renting long-term becomes more common among the upcoming generations, it is not impossible to buy a home in the current market and it appears that the Help to Buy scheme has helped many across the line.

New figures released from the Government have revealed just how much of an impact the Help to Buy ISA’s have had on the market, after only being introduced a few years ago.

According to reports, over 1.2 million people have opened a Help to Buy ISA account and there have been just over 420,000 completions by buyers who are using one or more of the schemes set up to help them onto the ladder.

An estimated 365,400 first time buyers are now homeowners, claiming an average bonus of &800 through these schemes.

Help to Buy purchases have been popular throughout the country as a whole, but the North West has seen the most activity, showing over 20,000 completions in the last 3 months alone.

The scrapping of stamp duty in 2017 has also been a bonus for prospective homeowners, saving many first time buyers anywhere up to &5,000 on the purchase of their home and a total of &284 million has been saved so far.

In addition to this, there are also Help to Buy Equity loans. This scheme allows buyers to borrow 20% of a home’s value to put down as a deposit, as long as they can provide 5%. Help to Buy Equity loans have given just under 170,000 people a leg up onto the property ladder since their introduction.

When trying to sell a property we all do our best to make sure our home is in tip-top shape and that we present it in the best light possible.

The little things can go a long way when it comes to selling a home and what may look like minor issues to you could be deal breakers to a potential buyer.

ScS recently surveyed a number of prospective buyers with the goal of discovering the biggest turn-offs when viewing a property.

Whenever you’re selling a home, making each room feel as spacious as possible is key to the sale, so it comes as no surprise that the number 1 turn off is clutter or obvious lack of storage, with 41% of survey participants stating that they would be put off a property which is clearly lacking for space.

Not very far behind at all and chosen by 40% of participants was pets, bad smells and general mess, as it appears that the thought of lasting damage from pets and odours is a big enough deal breaker for some buyers.

Continuing the theme of wear and tear and chosen by 36% of those who took part in the survey was old/damaged carpets, flooring can be quite costly to replace so it is understandable that a worn-out rug could ruin a viewing.

The kitchen is arguably the most important room in a home when it comes to a viewing as if it’s not to the buyers liking, it's easily one of the most expensive rooms to renovate. This holds true according to the results of the survey, as 35% of people said they would not buy a home if they were not a fan of the kitchen.

Coming in at 5th place was being near a main road, as one-third of us (33%) prefer a home in a more secluded spot away from noisy traffic.

The study also found which features were considered ‘must-have’ with 57% searching for a home with the right number of bedrooms, 40% looking for off-street parking, 32% wanting a well-maintained garden and a similar number of participants looking for new windows and a new kitchen, chosen by 31% and 30% respectively.

The rental market in the UK has seen its fair share of changes over the last two years and it is now looking like those changes are starting to have an impact.

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) recently conducted a survey which provided some interesting forecasts for the Private Rented Sector.

It appears that the supply of homes available for rent has taken a fall and has done consistently for the past 2 years. Changes to tax law for landlords and an increase in stamp duty for buy-to-let purchases has made potential new landlords more hesitant to jump into the market.

RICS found that across the last 3 months 22% of respondents to the survey saw a drop in new landlords. This combined with the growing demand for rental homes due to affordability issues has led to forecasts of a 2% rise in rental rates over the course of the next year.

This increase is expected to be felt in all regions of the UK, with East Anglia and the South-West of England highlighted to see the largest growth.

Long-term, this is predicted to continue also, with pressures of the UK property market predicted to drive rents up by 15% over the next 5 years.

A separate report from tenant referencing company HomeLet, stated that rents had risen by 1% in the 12 months to July, currently standing at an average of &777 per month, with London seeing a 3.3% rise to &1,615 in the same period.

Chief Economist at RICS – Simon Rubinsohn – commented on the findings of their survey, stating “The impact of recent and ongoing tax changes is clearly having a material impact on the buy-to-let sector as intended.

“The risk, as we have highlighted previously, is that a reduced pipeline of supply will gradually feed through into higher rents in the absence of either a significant uplift in the Build to Rent programme or government-funded social housing.

“At the present time, there is little evidence that either is likely to make up the shortfall.”

For a lot of older homeowners today, downsizing can be a great way not only to have a good clear out after your kids have left home, but also a fantastic way to create some equity. This financial boost will also most likely come with the added bonus of a reduction in running costs as you move to a smaller home. While there are plenty of benefits of downsizing, moving home can still be a complex and stressful experience, so we’ve put together a quick guide on what to consider to make the transition a much smoother process.

Decide what you REALLY need

The most important step to a successful downsize - and it’s one that you’ll want to take as early as possible - is taking a good look at all of your possessions and shedding as much as possible. This is the part where you have to consider your day to day life and think about how much you use all of these items. You should ask yourself, do you still need all of that seating in the living room, or do you need such a large dining table? If the answer is ‘no’ to questions like these, then it’s time to start dividing item into piles marked ‘keep’ or ‘give away’.

It’s not an easy process; letting go of a life’s worth of possessions, many of which will have sentimental value is tough to do, but the benefits on moving day will be worth it. For one thing, you won’t have as many things to move, and there will be less worry about how to fit all of your possessions into your new home as a result.

Don’t Throw Anything Away

Once you’ve decided which items don’t belong in the ‘keep’ pile, it’s time to see if you can get some extra cash from your unwanted possessions. Most likely, there will be some items that may not be fit for use anymore and could be recycled, but those that are in good condition can be used to help purchase new items that are more suitable for your smaller home.

As we said earlier, separating your items early is the best strategy, as you will now have plenty of time to use websites such as Gumtree and eBay in order to facilitate selling the things that you don’t wish to keep. You might even be surprised by the how much interest they generate, and how much money they bring in.

Assess Your New Space

At this point, you should have divided your items and possibly sold a few, too. Even though you’ve probably gotten rid of a lot of possessions, it may still be a challenge fitting everything that remains into your smaller space.

If you’re already part of the way through the moving process and have agreed on which house you’re going to buy, start looking at measurements of each room and compare them against the furniture you currently have. For example, your king size bed may fit into your new bedroom, but will it leave room for much else? Start planning how everything is going to fit in and figure out how to get the absolute most out of each space. You may need to invest in smaller and more suitable items for your home such as a dining table that seats 4 instead of 8.

Prepare for moving day

Your last move was likely to a home of similar size if not bigger. However, this time you must consider that you’ll have less space to work with, meaning it won’t be just as simple as getting everything in and unpacking it later.

Whether you want to label all your boxes with ‘living room’ or ‘bedroom’ or use a colour coded system, it’s best to know what goes where before you begin to move things. As with any move, it’s wise to focus on the bigger items such as beds and chairs first, as this will give you a better idea of where to place all the small things.

Normally when a family moves into a bigger space, they initially use the extra room to store things that they’re too tired to unpack right away. If you’re downsizing then you probably won’t have room for a bunch of items to be out of sight and out of mind, so you should begin unpacking and organising all of your items as soon as you can. Moving into a smaller place and being surrounded by boxes for the first couple weeks will only ruin the experience for you by making it feel even smaller. Get organised early and get the full use out of your new home.