HOUSE BUYING AND SELLING

That this House notes that the buying and selling of houses is a matter of great concern to the vast majority of the population; is concerned about the increasing difficulties that young people face in buying a house, particularly in major cities; is further concerned that estate agents are not required to have qualifications, unlike in the USA, for example and that instances of gazumping facilitated by estate agents are well documented, including by the BBC's Whistleblower programme; and calls on the Government to enforce qualifications for estate agents and to make the acceptance of an offer on a house a binding legal contract, as is the case in France and other countries.