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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. Fertility rates fall to lowest on record, bringing population decline (and house price falls) with it.

   https://x.com/ONS/status/1960621472390513126

2. Rightmove Warns of Tax Reform Risks to Housing Market Stability https://thenegotiator.co.uk/news/uk-housing-market-news/be-careful-what-you-wish-for-when-reforming-property-taxation-says-rightmove/

3. Zoopla reports overpriced homes take 2.4 times longer to sell than homes that sell without a reduction needed. In a rising market, some sellers don’t mind “waiting for the market” to reach their asking price, but in a falling market it means selling for less.

   https://thenegotiator.co.uk/news/marketing-news/warning-over-priced-homes-take-twice-as-long-to-sell/

4. Small landlords to be given final push to exit the market with National Insurance added to rental income

   https://www.thetimes.com/article/8e762788-eb8f-48bd-af27-cb97e1155060?shareToken=4c97cee696c9a7e3e4322a9a00e69273

5. IMF warns on fragile bond market, mentions UK, and debt complacency. This is their way of saying “be careful, things look shaky and there could be trouble.” Would impact housing market if what she’s worried about happens.

   https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-08-28/imf-s-no-2-warns-on-fragile-bond-markets-complacency-on-debt

Charlie's Thought of the Week:

It only takes one idiot to ruin a party for everyone else.

You’re at a party. Everyone is having a really good time. It’s relaxed, conversation and drinks are flowing, new friends being made, new adventures being planned.

Then that one person, who has either drunk too much, or suffered an ignominious break up (often both) becomes a loud bore, starts staggering around the place bumping into people, shouting “I fucking loved her, man! She broke my heart! Can I tell you all about it?”.

What happens then is that the party breaks up, everyone moves on, it’s over.

I’ve realised that this is what it’s like with landlords. Most of them are actually intelligent, thoughtful people who understand that taking care of their tenant as a human pays dividends long term.

But a few, a minority, are so under-prepared, under-researched and naive that, even though they are decent people in the rest of their lives, become utter selfish charlatans when it comes to how they treat tenants.

And when they do, the effects, the impact on tenants lives, is so deep, so far reaching, so damaging, that it’s no surprise there is a cohort of tenants who absolutely despise landlords. They complain loudly on social media and get press coverage, and succeed in painting all landlords as heartless, feckless misers who would happily squeeze every last drop of blood from their tenants to make an extra 1% return on their ‘investment’.

The truth is, like when you’re at a party, for a good time to be had by all without some thoughtless fool wrecking it for everyone, people choose to moderate their behaviour. Yes, it’s a party, people want to have fun and have a few drinks, a dance, maybe a snog with someone they fancy, or a nefarious silent disappearing with someone they know they shouldn’t be snogging, but it works, and people want to do it again.

As long as the drunken twat doesn’t turn up and wreck it for everyone.

I have deeply mixed feelings about the evisceration of small landlords by the government.

On one hand, it means there will be fewer homes to rent, prices will rise, and tenants will end up with heartless corporate landlords who won’t offer the flexibility and humanity of a small landlord when times are tough. This is bad.

But on the other hand, it means there will be more homes available to buy for first time buyers, it will ease pressure on house prices.

Best of all, it is likely to drive out all of the worst kind of selfish, misguided bell-end landlords who think that their tenants exist purely to pay their bills, and can be made homeless on a whim at short notice if convenience requires it.

Then we can all resume the parties, drinking and snogging, without the risk of the one legless idiot ruining it for everyone.

In case you missed anything this week…

Charlie’s five golden rules of offering on a home

Leasehold v common-hold. Live: conveyancing Q&A with special guest.

Most viewed post this week on X:

Most viewed video this week on TikTok:

@movinghomewithcharlie

Charlie's 5 Golden Rules of Offering on a Home Offer email template link in bio linktree also https://mhwc.co.uk/suggested-email-template-... See more

That’s all for this week!

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

Charlie