Two estate agents from Tynemouth have been warned as to their future conduct by the Office of Fair Trading after a complaint revealed that their agency was not complying with legislation designed to protect consumers.

Gordon Reed and Jason Roberts, director and former director of Coast and Country Estate Management Limited, trading as Roberts & Reed, 39 Front Street, Tynemouth have promised the OFT that they will ensure they are fair in their future dealings with customers, in particular:

• providing all prospective clients with written details of their charges and fees before they are committed to any liability towards them
• not making any misrepresentations as to the existence or status of any prospective purchasers; and
• passing on all offers promptly and in writing.

Research by Halifax has shown that the cost of owning your home has increase by more than three times the rate of inflation.

For many home owners, nearly one fifth of their income is spent on their home, with the largest single housing expense being mortgage interest, accounting for 34% of money spent on the home.

Londoners bear the highest costs, with housing costs averaging £8,133. People living in Northern Ireland, Wales and the North East pay the least at around £5,000 per year.

A curious case involving Connells Estate Agents in Leamington Spa has given insight into how local estate agents judge themselves to have sold more properties than any of their competitors - they simply go around and count the "Sold" signs.

Although counting the sold signs in a local area seems laughably simply considering today's technology, it's big business with one analysis company surveying around 85,000 homes every month. A Sunderland company, For Sale Sign Analysis Ltd (FSSA) provide data to estate agents that they have collected by surveying (or visiting) the for sale signs in a local area.

Estate agents have been using this information in their local advertising, and the regulator the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has now questioned how reliable this data actually is.

The Office of Fair Trading has banned a Manchester estate agent from trading for various offences under the Estate Agents Act and for attempting to secure payments from both sellers and buyers.

Martin Corrick Levy, who traded as Scotts Estate Agents of 443 Bury New Road, Prestwich, Manchester, has received a prohibition order banning him from engaging in estate agency work.

The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) says that over £23 billion was lent by mortgage companies in January 2006.

This is the highest figure ever lent in January, although it is less than the £26.9 billion that was lent to borrowers during December 2005.

The CML expects lending to slow down during the winter months as fewer people choose to move home at this time of year. It says that such a good performance for January shows that consumer confidence is remaining high in the housing market.

An advertising agency has been told not to repeat a radio ad that falsely claimed that new apartments were a five minute walk from the beach.

The advertisement on behalf of a North East builder was aired on Metro Radio and claimed:

"Shepherd Homes luxury two bed apartments at the Laurels, West Monkseaton are a great place to live. Newcastle and Sunderland are in easy reach and yet you're only five minutes walk from the beach; great for a stroll on a Sunday. And for runners, well it's just paradise. Best of all, we'll pay your 5% deposit for you. That's worth at least £7,500. It's a breath of fresh air. For more information call 01 … or visit shepherd-holmes.co.uk."

The background sound effects included the sound of waves and seagulls.

The trade organisation representing removal companies, the British Association of Removers (BAR), has passed the first stage of the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) approved consumer code scheme.

To gain full approval, BAR now has to prove to the OFT that it can operate its scheme in practice, in particular that consumer disputes are properly and fairly resolved. BAR will not be able to claim approval for its code until this has been completed.

The Office of Fair Trading has instructed Leeds estate agent chain Jump to play straight with its customers.

The OFT has received undertakings from the Company that it will ensure it complies with trading laws. Companies who fail to abide by undertakings are liable to enforcement action including prosecution.