The Conservatives have unveiled a series of proposals aimed at reducing taxation and regulation, with housing and housebuilding featuring prominently within their plans. The party has described the wider programme as the “biggest deregulation project in a generation”, with proposals including abolishing stamp duty on property purchases.

The UK housing market remained subdued in August, with house prices edging up by 0.2% over the month and annual growth sitting at 1.6%, according to Nationwide's latest House Price Index.

One of the biggest talking points this week has been the 11% week-on-week drop in sales agreed and a drop of 2% on the average asking price of a newly listed properties. While some seasonal softening is entirely normal during the summer holiday period, the scale of this fall has caught the attention of the property industry.

Having an offer accepted on a property should feel like a major milestone. But getting from “offer accepted” to “completion” can sometimes feel like a very different story. New research suggests that conveyancing is now seen by many homebuyers as one of the biggest obstacles to a smooth property transaction — even more so than property chains.