Home information packs (Hips) should be suspended by the government in order to stimulate the property market at a crucial point in its recovery, according to the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA).

The organisation has called for the immediate suspension of Hips and urged the government to re-examine their viability, after in-house research suggested they are not valued by 77 per cent of purchasers.

The housing market will continue to be affected by the recession for "a long time" despite reported increases in property prices, it has been claimed.

Latest figures from the Land Registry show that the average house price now stands at just under £160,000 after further increases of 0.6 per cent in October.

The number of landlords who are remortgaging their investment properties has fallen to its lowest level in more than two years, new research has shown.

A panel-based survey of brokers by Paragon Mortgages revealed that 39 per cent of landlords took out buy-to-let mortgages for remortgage purposes in the third quarter of this year.

Proposals made by the UK Treasury to strengthen the protection of home loans will be difficult to apply, the Association of Mortgage Intermediaries (AMI) has said.

The proposals, announced earlier this week, will aim to protect borrowers when lenders sell on mortgage books to third parties.

The Association of Mortgage Intermediaries (AMI) has given its support to proposals to extend the scope of the Financial Services Authority's (FSA) regulation of buy-to-let mortgages.

Buy-to-let mortgages would be brought under the FSA's regulatory regime for the first time under the proposals, which the authority claimed would strengthen oversight of the industry and protect consumers making investment decisions on property.

Reduced asking prices for prime London properties mean investors, including buy-to-let landlords, looking to expand their portfolios have "the opportunity of a generation", London Central Portfolio has said.

Prices in the capital have fallen despite demand remaining high, which has created a "very specific window of opportunity", Naomi Heaton, the firm's chief executive, said.

Investors looking to buy into the UK residential rental property sector "should do their research first", it has been claimed.

Coming on the back of the buy-to-let boom seen in Merseyside following the announcement that Liverpool was to be the European Capital of Culture, the region's leading landlord group has revealed that it is still seeing inexperienced investors moving into the market.

Landlords looking for new investment opportunities should seek out properties near to successful schools, new research has suggested.

Homes within the catchment area of schools with a 100 per cent attainment rate of level four SATs or above are worth almost £20,000 more than properties located near poor performing schools, according to a new study from the Nationwide Building Society.

New home registration numbers are at their highest level for more than a year, new figures have revealed.

Latest statistics from the National House-Building Council (NHBC) showed that there were 9,163 registrations in October, the highest number recorded since July 2008.

A north-south divide has been revealed in the number of UK homes left empty for longer than six months.

The north-west of England currently has 66,691 empty homes, accounting for 22 per cent of the country's total, according to the latest Empty Homes survey by Halifax.

The number of people who have benefited from the stamp duty holiday is just 25 per cent of government forecasts, new research has shown.

Only £173 million was saved by 115,447 buyers compared to the £600 million the government had estimated would be saved during the tax break, Zoopla.co.uk said.

Landlords looking to get the best deals in the buy-to-let property sector should conduct research and invest in reputable companies before entering deals, according to property investment adviser Assetz.

The advice follows recent research by Moneyfacts, which revealed many landlords have had difficulty finding new deals without being able to put up deposits of 20 per cent.

Landlords who operate properties in areas at risk of flooding could benefit from new protective measures announced by the government yesterday (November 19th).

Communities are set to be "better protected" under the new plans published in the Flood and Water Management Bill by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).

A modest increase in property values can be expected over the next 12 months, but a return to house price booms remains "unlikely", according to realpricecomparison.com.

Francis Ghiloni, the property website's commercial director, said a five per cent increase over the coming year "looks possible".

Residential landlords in Coventry, who suspect illegal activity may be taking place in their properties, are being urged to "shop dodgy tenants".

West Midlands Police have written to 2,500 people, who rent out properties in the city, encouraging them to take part in scheme called Tenant Watch, the Coventry Telegraph reported.

The Property Ombudsman (TPO) has expelled a London-based estate agent who failed to safeguard a tenant's deposit or pay compensation.

Global Realty, which has two north London offices, has had its membership to the ombudsman scheme revoked after failing to comply with a £1,600 award decision.

More than a quarter of residential landlords reported decreased or stagnated revenue during the third quarter of the year, new figures have shown.

Almost 25 per cent were found to either be making a loss or struggling to break even, according to the latest quarterly report from research agency Business Development Research Consultants (BDRC).

Landlords who do not take proper inventories are risking their money, the National Landlords Association (NLA) has warned.

Some landlords are left with damage or cleaning costs or face having to replace furniture and fittings by not taking the proper precautions, the association claimed.

This could result in a drain on finances, which the NLA said is the "last thing" landlords need when they are facing rental arrears and void periods.

The association is launching a new inventory service offering a "simple" way for landlords to ensure their properties and contents are covered.

NLA chairman David Salusbury said: "Put simply, inventories are not an optional extra. They are just as important as getting your tenant to sign their AST, or protecting their deposit.

"If you want to avoid having to pay for your tenants even after they've moved out, taking an inventory will help."

He also urged landlords to consider proper check out reports at the end of a tenancy saying it was a sensible way to note any changes in the condition of the property.

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Buy-to-let landlords are slowly gaining more options in the way of available mortgages, new figures have revealed.

There are currently 239 buy-to-let products available to landlords, up from a low of 179 in September, according to online information provider Moneyfacts.

The end of the current stamp duty holiday, which is scheduled for December 31st, could have a "detrimental effect" on housing market recovery in some of the UK's weaker regions, according to new research.

A drop in activity, following the end of the temporary £175,000 threshold, is expected by surveyors in the West and East Midlands, Wales and Scotland, according to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS).

A monthly house price index released this month could have a negative effect on housing market confidence, according to one mortgage specialist.

This month's monthly index, released by FindaProperty.com, revealed that asking prices for homes are down by 0.5 per cent, the first drop seen since March this year.

A number of "industry heavyweights" have added their support to the 1808 Coalition which is campaigning for the government to modernise stamp duty.

Recently set up by the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) and the Association of Residential Letting Agents, the coalition lobbies the government to extend the "holiday" on stamp duty, or make the temporary threshold of £175,000 permanent.

Residential landlords in the UK would face a £5 billion bill on empty properties under controversial new proposals set to be put to Alistair Darling.

The chancellor should levy a tax on the one million homes left empty by landlords to plug holes in the country's economy, Brendan Barber, general secretary of the Trades Union Congress (TUC), told the Observer.

The National Landlords Association (NLA) today announced that its vice-chairman John Socha will step down as a director later this month.

Mr Socha joined the Small Landlords Association (SLA) in 1996 and was chairman when the organisation became the NLA to create a UK-wide platform.

The National Landlords Association (NLA) has moved to strongly criticise a north-east councillor for a "continuing vendetta" against students.

Ron Armstrong, a councillor for North Jesmond in Newcastle, recently published comments on the Jesmond Residents' Association website explaining how "taxpayers contribute to university student finance".

A drop in the number of expected repossessions could actually be bad news for homeowners and buy-to-let landlords, it has been claimed.

Latest Council of Mortgage Lenders figures showed that 48,000 repossessions are now expected by the end of the year, a number that was originally placed at 75,000.

Figures released yesterday proved that the holiday on stamp duty should be extended in order for the recovery of the housing market to continue, the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) has said.

The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) revealed that one-third of first-time buyers escaped stamp duty in September as a result of the government's temporary tax threshold.

The National Landlords Association (NLA) called on the government yesterday to raise the tax threshold on its rent-a-room scheme.

Under current regulations, landlords who let out spare rooms in their homes are entitled to £4,250 of tax-exempt earnings.

Reports of an increase in the number of UK properties being brought to the sales market is a "cause for cheer", according to online property information specialists Zoopla.co.uk.

Figures released by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors showed that a net balance of 15 per cent of surveyors reported an increase in new instructions last month.

One third of first-time-buyers escaped stamp duty in September as a result of the government's "holiday" on the tax, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML).

Under the temporary tax rule, properties under £175,000 are exempt from stamp duty.

Buy-to-let landlords in Brentwood are benefiting from increased property sales, according to estate agents in the area.

An increase in property sales in the borough has lead to less rented accommodation being available on the market.

In turn this has meant that landlords have been able to put up rental rates and increase profits.

A residential landlord in Bradford was fined over £13,000 yesterday (November 9th) following a string of complaints from tenants.

Brahim Taleb was fined £4,850 and ordered to pay costs of £8,477 by Bradford magistrates, after tenants complained of damp problems, damaged fire doors and a lack of central heating and hot water.

Property investors have been advised to carry out key improvements as a matter of priority in order to maximise potential profit.

Taking care of issues such as damp problems and adding central heating will "always pay back more than they cost", according to one expert.

A recent boom has been reported in the market for letting rooms to workers in need of affordable weekday accommodation.

The growing trend of people renting affordable rooms throughout the week, as opposed to making a long daily commute, is producing a huge impact on the buy-to-let sector, the Daily Mail reported.

Landlords will not take responsibility for paying utility bills for tenants who leave a property without paying the final bills, an industry body has said.

Comments from Landlord Assist follow the government's review of water charges, which suggested that residential landlords may have to pay any outstanding debts.

Landlords showed "renewed" confidence in their industry during the third quarter of 2009 in a new study.

Findings from Paragon Mortgages' PRS Trends report revealed that many landlords anticipate the value of their portfolio will increase during the next 12 months.

Houses worth more than £1 million continue to be priced at levels higher than the housing market peak in 2007, estate agency Prickett & Ellis has suggested.

The comments are in contrast to recent figures released by Zoopla.co.uk, which showed that the number of London properties worth more than £1 million has fallen by 29 per cent in the last two years.

Confidence in the benefits of investing in residential property has remained stable since July, according to new figures released by Reita.

The education and awareness campaign for property investment released its findings yesterday, showing over 40 per cent of independent financial advisers (IFAs) think that returns from real estate investment trusts (REIT) will be better than from direct property over the next 12 months.

Further increases in the number of people looking to rent properties could be expected after mixed messages came through from mortgage lenders.

The number of 85 per cent loan-to-value (LTV) mortgages available from lenders is at its highest level in more than 12 months, according to online financial advisers Moneyfacts.

Landlords who let homes of multiple occupancy (HMO) were reminded of the importance of licensing this week (Monday November 2nd), after a Brighton landlord was fined more than £1,200.

HMO licences have been required by landlords since 2006, and under the Brighton and Hove City Council scheme, can last for up to five years.

An increasing number of landlords and letting agents are using video evidence in tenancy disputes, according to one deposit protection organisation.

Up to five pieces of video evidence per week are now be submitted to the online dispute service of mydeposits.co.uk, a government-approved scheme.

House prices continued to increase throughout October, albeit at a slower rate than the previous month, new figures have shown.

Last month saw prices rise by 0.4 per cent to an average of £162,038, according to building society Nationwide.