Property Insights from FirstPort

Customer service excellence: Trust versus transaction

It’s no surprise that many of the UK’s best exemplars of exceptional customer service are drawn from the retail sector, as research data from The Institute of Customer Service consistently shows.

The calm before the storm?

The UK’s leading retirement property specialist releases its latest quarterly review of the UK market and beyond.
The review highlights retirement property enquiries on the up, with a 17% increase in new registrations for the first quarter of 2017 compared to the same period last year, showing a resilient ‘bounce’ after a quiet final quarter of 2016.

Two heads are better than one: The IRPM and FirstPort working together to support the sector

Felix Keen, Director for Industry Engagement at FirstPort became Chair of the Institute of Residential Property Management (IRPM) in September 2016 having first become involved with the organisation in 2002. He tells us how his role within both organisations, and how joined up working between them supports the sector as a whole.

Build to Rent: Aligning the stars

The private rental sector has always been with us, for the most part living in the shadow of our cultural obsession with home ownership. Two catalysts in the last quarter century have shifted the market’s centre of gravity.

The Voice of the Customer

We’ve all been there. You contact an organisation hoping to deal with a real person. Someone who can understand your query and give you the confidence they are dealing with it. What you’re met with is an offer of an email response, which ends up being complicated, convoluted jargon that you suspect the person writing doesn’t even fully understand, leaving you with your head in your hands wishing you hadn’t bothered.

Uncertainty and opportunity in the UK residential property market

Surprise results that fly in the face of expected outcomes always cause uncertainty. 2016 gave us Brexit and Donald J Trump in the White House. 2017 has so far given us a likely triggering of Article 50 by the spring. Again to the surprise of much expert opinion, pre-referendum doom appears to have been replaced by post-referendum boom – to date. Regardless, political and economic atmospheres remain febrile as a result and UK plc is arguably in its most unpredictable state in living memory.

What landlord’s need to know

The Supreme Court’s decision in the recent case of Edwards v Kumarasamy [2016] UKSC 40 has shone a welcome spotlight on the importance of health and safety within the property industry. What started in July 2010 when Mr Edwards tripped on an uneven paving slab between the front door of his block of flats and the communal bin area, ended just over six years later with a judgment handed down by the Supreme Court, following a series of appeals.

Call to encourage 'Last-Time Buyer' movement as Britons put off downsizing

The UK’s leading retirement property specialist is calling for more specialist retirement properties to be built with desirable facilities to make it easier for Britons to downsize.
New research conducted by Retirement Homesearch has revealed a gap between the age people imagine they will downsize and the reality, with data showing that the age UK adults expect to downsize or move into a specialist retirement property increases as they get older.

Harnessing Technology in Residential Property Management

The smart technology revolution in residential property management now has unstoppable traction … read the latest briefing paper from FirstPort.

Cinemas, gyms and bee-keeping clubs:

why it’s good business to ‘create communities’ on developments
By Sue Petri, MD of FirstPort Bespoke Property Services

There’s a change afoot in our cities which is set to transform apartment living, with larger, more complex developments now far more common, developers and property managers need to truly understand what residents are looking for and create communities that they want to live in.

Retirement Market Regains Confidence Following Brexit Decision

Sales of retirement property saw an unseasonal rise following the EU referendum, with August the second busiest month of the year to date, according to the latest figures from Retirement Homesearch.

31 August 2016: Understanding The Value of Property Maintenance

As the UK’s largest property management company, we know first-hand that it takes both time and money to successfully maintain a home. We do it every day. But we understand that for most people it’s something they have to do on top of everything else.

2 August 2016: Brexit instability impacts retirement housing market, latest figures show

Review finds new buyer registrations fall 30% year-on-year due to pre-referendum uncertainty but viewings and sales remain steady

Retirement Homesearch Q1 2016 Review finds retirement home sales rose 11% despite 18% fewer viewings than Q1 2015.
Warning as a quarter of retirees now wait until they are 80 to downsize, many retirement homes not designed to meet their care needs.
Retirement Homesearch calls for more information on options to be made available to downsizers.

12 February 2016: Super-size trend in apartment living has important consequences for property managers

The adage ‘bigger is better’ often applies very neatly when it comes to property matters. It certainly seems to have become the case for people choosing to live in larger apartment blocks in cities, as we now witness an increasing trend towards bigger and more complex developments.

4 February 2016: Generation Rent transferring to retirement

It is difficult to believe that experts predicted that 2015 would be the year of the property market price boom. Retirement Homesearch, the UK’s leading retirement property specialists and part of FirstPort, has used this review to explore how the year’s events have influenced the retirement property sector and what the lasting effects are for 2016.

29 January 2016: FirstPort CEO comments on the Index of Private Housing Rental Prices

FirstPort CEO comments on the Index of Private Housing Rental Prices

2 December 2015: FirstPort launches new research on apartment living

Over 80 per cent of London flat residents questioned say apartment living suits lifestyle, research reveals

18 November 2015: We must support – not shame – older homeowners into downsizing

Retirement downsizing has moved up the property market agenda in the past few weeks, following the recent, controversial comments from Lynda Blackwell, head of mortgages at the Financial Conduct Authority. Lynda believes that the Government should do more to encourage older homeowners “sitting happily in big houses” to downsize and free up family homes, alleviating the current UK housing crisis.

Impact of the UK housing shortage on the Retirement sector

The UK’s housing shortage is having consequences on different parts of the market, and the retirement sector is not immune.

26 May 2015: Downsizing down to a tee

Nick Freeth, Managing Director of Retirement Homesearch, the UK’s largest specialist retirement property agents, gives his thoughts and tips on how best to downsize.

13 May 2015: Choosing the right retirement property

Retirement Homesearch's ultimate checklist when choosing the right retirement property for you

Property Insights