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Welcome to your weekly briefing on important things affecting the housing market.

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This week’s top 5 housing market facts:

1. Long term empty homes numbers rising. There isn’t a housing shortage.
   https://westbridgfordwire.com/1000-council-homes-across-nottinghamshire-stand-empty/

2. Bank of England says minimum wage increases are pricing the young out of jobs https://x.com/moving_charlie/status/2023110452197364135?s=46

3. UK youth unemployment exceeds EU for first time at 15%+ https://www.perplexity.ai/page/uk-youth-unemployment-surpasse-_bQuFpyBRI6ldU3TLb.QPw

4. Rightmove fudges monthly price index headline to cover up flat prices https://www.rightmove.co.uk/news/content/uploads/2026/02/Rightmove-HPI-16-February-Final-1.pdf

5. Waiting won't work with unemployment persistently rising, if you’re a seller hoping for a higher house price. https://x.com/moving_charlie/status/2023698468393406558?s=20

Thought of the Week: The hidden problem behind housing no one knows or talks about

Being mysterious isn’t my usual thing, I normally like to just throw the cards on the table, reveal the truth, expose the shysters when I find them, so forgive me for this frustratingly vague piece, but it’s important.

It’s no secret that the property industry is awash with sharks and charlatans who will willingly stitch people up to make a sale or hit a target. These parasites operate at all levels, and the higher up you go, the more concentrated they become.

Sometimes, the good guys who get to the top choose to leave and not be part of the sleaze, once they realise it’s too big a job to do anything about it. I can respect anyone who has enough integrity to say “I can’t be a part of this any more” and chooses to leave.

But every time one of these good guys leaves, it’s one less person to stop the rot, so the rot continues to eat more deeply into the greasy wheels and greasy palms of the housing market system.

Behind the public face of estate agency there is a secondary industry, the estate agency suppliers of various products and services (including some excellent ones) including a lot of technology products.

This week I was reminded, as I am periodically, just how embarrassingly low the general bar of technology is in the property market. Every couple of years there is an impressive new entrant of some kind, and they are always shocked at how backwards, protectionist and incompetent the general level of technology in residential property is.

This week, for the first time, I was reminded not only how low the bar is, but how dishonestly, corruptly and destructively the cabal that controls much of it operates.

They span the leadership of a number of significant businesses. They do not care about the wellbeing of moving consumers, nor the wellbeing of the thousands of small estate agency customers they have. Going right back to 2003, I have repeatedly personally witnessed, first hand, deliberately dishonest deals being done to fleece and rip off decent honest people and businesses, for the sake of control, power and money. The worst thing is that most of the small businesses its being done to are unaware of it, and blame Rightmove for their cost woes, when for all it flaws, Rightmove has only ever been transparent about its terms and long term planned price increases.

I am repeatedly invited to join this cabal, in some way or other, and they have tried to get their influence into my businesses from the outside. But, despite the offers and promises of great benefits, the stench of corruption, greed, fraud and exploitation has always been too strong for me. I value my self respect just enough to be able to resist.

I cannot yet speak out publicly about this cabal, but when the time comes I shall. Because their influence has now reached directly into the top levels of government.

And I can tell you that any such influence is an absolutely disastrous thing if there is to be any chance of improvement in the housing market.

They are a bunch of smug, self-satisfied yet incompetent parasites who will continue to gorge themselves on the proceeds of other people’s misfortune for a while yet. But at the earliest possible opportunity, when I know it will be successful, I intend to use everything at my disposal to put an end to their massively harmful cartel-like behaviour.

There will be naming, shaming, and I anticipate lawsuits (which has happened to me many times already for speaking out, although none has ever followed through).

This week something happened that made me feel like I’m not the only one that sees them and the damage they’re causing. And it’s given me renewed optimism that their cabal can be ended, for the benefit of the unwitting agents and movers currently losing out as a result.

Have a good weekend, and I hope everyone is holding up ok if life is being challenging.

Love and luck to all. Charlie

In case you missed anything this week…

Rightmove’s Great Housing Market News!

The Self-Defeating Pointlessness of Estate Agent Valuations

Most viewed post this week on X:

Most viewed video this week on TikTok:

@movinghomewithcharlie

A buyer's market is here, but high expectations mean you're missing out.

That’s all for this week!

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Have a great weekend, lots of love and luck to you all.

Charlie