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Property consultancy Knight Frank has launched a Property Search App to help iPhone users find new homes to buy or rent.

Patrick Ramsay, head of Residential, Knight Frank, said: "The Knight Frank App is a mobile window to more than 6000 of the best properties around the world.

Interest in the housing market is strengthening, according to the latest Monthly Market Review from property finders Garrington.

It cites portals such as Rightmove reporting search activity on its website hitting a record high in the first full week of the year with 157.4 million pages viewed - 26% higher on the same period a year ago. The site also stated that on a non-seasonally adjusted month-on-month basis, prices rose 0.4%, reversing part of the 2.2% decline in December. Rightmove figures are based on asking prices as properties come on to the market. The Land Registry recorded a rise of 0.1% using data based on all residential housing transactions.

National house builder Bellway has launched a scheme that will enable serving members of the armed forces to benefit from a discount equivalent to £500 for every £25,000 or part thereof on the cost of a new Bellway home in addition to any other advertised offer.

Sales Director Rob Armstrong said: "We are delighted to recognise the commitment and service to the country undertaken by our armed forces. This is a very special deal which we are offering in addition to any other advertised offer and is only available to armed forces personnel.

Members of the Armed Forces looking to buy their own home could benefit from a new home ownership scheme launched by the MOD and DCLG.

Under the pilot scheme, the Government will provide members of the Armed Forces with up to 50% of a property’s value. Unlike similar schemes, personnel will be allowed to purchase properties anywhere in England through a single service provider, to meet the needs of the Armed Forces’ mobile workforce.

House buying tops the table of "most stressful life experiences" with one in four (24%) homeowners finding it the most demanding and stressful thing they have done, according to professional advice website Unbiased.co.uk.

Buying a house was listed top at 24%, ahead of starting a new job (14%), having a child (13%) and getting married (9%).  House buying remained the number one stressful life experience for all ages – rising to 37% of those aged between 20 and 29, and 24% of those aged 70 or over.

Instead of getting easier with experience, moving up the property ladder appears even more stressful than entering it, with 41% of second-time buyers finding buying their second home as or more stressful than their first. The fact they were part of a chain made it more stressful for 27% of second-time buyers, which rose to 42% of those aged between 30 and 39.

Even with some firms moderating the level of payouts, many bankers are expected to channel their bonuses into prime property over the next couple of months.

Therefore those already in a position to buy should act now to beat the likely rush and the higher prices it will create, according to Primelocation.com.

People who bought flats in the 1970s and 1980s on relatively short leases of 125 years have been warned about a potential lease extension timebomb.

Leaseholders have rights in law to extend their leases by 90 years (Leasehold Reform Housing and Urban Development Act, 1993) but the costs of doing so can jump dramatically once the unexpired term of the lease gets below 80 years.

Properties with a view of the River Thames are the most resilient in times of economic turmoil, reports property consultant Cluttons.

The latest research from Cluttons compares riverfront and non-riverfront properties in the Central London market. On average, riverfront flats have lost just 4% of their value in the past two years, compared to a fall in average prices of 13% for those properties in the same area that do not have a river view.

London and the South East are the relative losers from the stamp duty holiday - and the total cost of the concession is much less than the Treasury originally estimated, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders.

As the stamp duty holiday ended on 31 December on properties sold for between £125,000 and £175,000, the CML looked at which regions benefited most and least from the temporary concession.

Chancellor Alistair Darling's Pre-Budget report failed to extend the stamp duty holiday on lower-value homes.

The break - currently for properties £175,000 or less avoids paying the 1% tax - ends on 1 January after being introduced in September 2008.