Rightmove said that monthly asking prices for newly listed homes were up 0.4 per cent in January to £300,425, but less demand from investors should be good news for home buyers. It said those looking to buy a home in early 2017 would face a far less competitive market than this time last year, when the rush to beat the buy-to-let stamp duty hike was in full swing.

More than 70 per cent of smaller building firms have experienced increased costs as a result of the weakened pound, with additional increases of 10 to 15 per cent expected as the new year unfolds. That said, you still have rights as a homeowner if you're worried about building costs rising unexpectedly.

One of Britain's biggest builders has admitted offering housebuyers thousands of pounds to persuade them to move into unfinished homes in a desperate bid to hit sales targets. Bovis Homes chief executive David Ritchie left abruptly on Monday, after it emerged the company was willing to pay its customers as much as £3,000 to complete deals by December 23 - even if the home was not finished.

Last spring, we purchased a house which with a conservatory - the first time my wife and I have owned a property with one. How can we make it warm enough to use in the winter?

An interest rate cut before the end of the year looks less likely following the plunge in the pound. However, the Bank of England has indicated that higher inflation driven by rising import costs won't make it lift rates.

Two decades ago, Joan Goodchild and her husband Denis, then in their 60s, were visited in their home in Essex, by a door-to-door salesman who offered what seemed like a tempting opportunity. They could have £36,250, secured against the house, to enjoy retirement, buy a new car and go on a long holiday. As a bonus, the cash was interest-free and did not need to be repaid until they either both died or sold their home.

The housing market traditionally begins to slow in the run up to Christmas as people postpone life-changing decisions until the New Year. But you can still proceed with your sale in December by following these seven tips - and with a shortage of homes going up for sale it may stand out more.

Property asking prices are tipped to rise by just 2 per cent next year while inner London prices could fall by 5 per cent, according to a forecast by property listings giant Rightmove. Prices will rise for the seventh year in a row, says Rightmove, but the pace of gains will slow as uncertainty weighs on the housing market and the London 'price bubble continues to deflate'.

House prices in prime central London dropped by an average of 4.8 per cent over the year to November, property experts have revealed. Analysts at Knight Frank say that this year's Brexit vote and stamp duty hike damaged market confidence. This in turn triggered 'overdue' slashes in asking prices in the most expensive areas of the capital as sellers became increasingly keen to rush through sales. The firm expects prime central London prices to fall by 6.3 per cent by the end of the year.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond this week promised that this government will be the one to get Britain building again. But will a few billion pounds solve decades of neglect that have left Britain in a housing crisis?

Several months after the Bank of England slashed the base rate to 0.25 per cent and lenders are still cutting mortgage rates on almost a weekly basis - but how low can they really go? The experts say not a lot lower and it's likely that if you get a mortgage at the moment, it's going to be a pretty cracking deal. 

For many buy-to-let looks an attractive income investment in a time of low rates and stock market volatility. Climbing house prices, rising rents and improving mortgage deals are tempting investors - although they will need a big deposit. Read This is Money's top ten buy-to-let tips

Houses are expensive. The average home in the UK costs £268,000, according to the Office of National Statistics. Unless you are very wealthy, you are unlikely to be able to buy a home outright. Instead, you can use a mortgage to fund the bulk of the purchase. We explain the essentials.

Eight nail biting months and finally, we have moved into our first home. It's been a treacherous journey full of hurdles - here's what I wish we knew when we started. They might not apply to everyone, some of it may seem simplistic and various titbits are unique to our own homebuying nightmare, but I hope it helps those entering the process, or currently enduring their own slice of hell.