Economists had expected mortgage approvals to increase to 34,000 in March but instead the latest figures from the British Bankers Association show they actually fell, to 31,888. This was significantly lower than 32,840 in February and the 25-month high in January, when 38,233 mortgages were approved. The slump in March represents an 11-month low and [...]
Obtaining a mortgage has become increasingly difficult since the credit crunch and the situation is worsening according to recent reports. Several lenders have recently increased mortgage rates for new borrowers, including Abbey, HSBC, Halifax, Lloyds TSB, Santander, Britannia, and Cheltenham & Gloucester. Customers taking out new fixed, tracker or discounted home loans will have to [...]
Mortgage lending increased by 4 per cent in February, compared with the previous month, according to the latest figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML). The number of loans made for house purchase increased to 36,600, representing a year-on-year rise of 17 per cent. There was also growth in the number of first-time buyer [...]
The Co-operative Bank has announced plans to increase its standard variable mortgage rate (SVR) by 0.5 percentage points to 4.74 per cent from 1 May. The increase means that 54,000 mortgage borrowers will have to pay an average of £15 a month more on their mortgage. The bank has increased its rates to help offset [...]
The Nationwide Building Society has become the latest lender to tighten lending criteria on interest-only mortgages, which are estimated to account for around 40 per cent of mortgages in Britain. The building society currently offers interest-only mortgages to residential customers with 25 per cent equity in their property. From tomorrow, only customers with 50 per [...]
The government launched its NewBuy scheme today, to help people afford a mortgage on a new property. The mortgage indemnity scheme will help people borrow up to 95 per cent of the value of new homes, for example on a newly built £200,000 property they would have to provide a £10,000 deposit. Since the credit [...]
The Bank of Ireland has become the latest lender to increase the standard variable rate (SVR) on its mortgages. Around 100,000 UK customers will be affected when the bank increases the SVR from 2.99 per cent, to 3.99 per cent in June There will be a further increase in September, when the SVR will rise [...]
Mortgage approvals have reached their highest level since December 2009 according to Bank of England figures. 58,728 home loans were approved in January 2012, a 30 per cent increase from January 2011, following increased activity among first-time buyers. A two-year stamp duty exemption on properties between the value of £125,000 and £250,000 will end in [...]
Gross mortgage lending fell to £10.5bn in January, 12 per cent lower than the total for December. However the figures represent a year-on-year increase of 10 per cent, the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) said. January was the sixth consecutive month of higher lending compared with the previous year. Home loan approvals also increased in [...]
The number of properties bought with buy-to-let mortgages increased by 84,000 in 2011 according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders’ latest figures. In the final quarter, 34,800 buy-to-let mortgages totalling £4 billion were approved, compared with 26,300 worth a total of £2.9 billion, in the 2010 final quarter. Demand for rented accommodation has increased significantly [...]
Paula John, the editor-in-chief of Your Mortgage magazine, has advised first-time-buyers to consider paying for their home through an offset mortgage. Offset mortgages are “the way forward” she said, suggesting they are “the most tax-efficient way of using any excess income”. However offset mortgages are only suitable for potential house buyers who have a significant [...]
Google has closed its UK mortgage comparison site which it launched in July last year, after it proved to be less popular than expected. Mortgage comparison sites are designed to allow visitors to compare mortgages quickly and easily without having to visit each lender’s individual site. Google was competing with several well-established comparison sites, including [...]
Chelsea Building Society has launched a five-year fixed-rate mortgage at 3.19 per cent. The deal is available on a maximum loan-to-value (LTV) of 70% with a fee of £1,495. The building society’s product manager Jemma Smith said the product “is the lowest five-year fixed-rate mortgage ever to come to the market which is great for [...]
Norwich & Peterborough Building Society (N&P) has launched a low rate, low fee mortgage to attract buyers who plan to stay in their property for a longer period of time. The ten-year fixed rate mortgage offers an interest rate of just 3.99 per cent APR, making it one of the cheapest deals on the market. [...]
December marked the fifth consecutive month of year-on-year growth in mortgage lending, with a 12 per increase, according to the Council for Mortgage Lenders (CML). Gross mortgage lending in December was an estimated £11.7 billion, while for the whole year it totalled £140 billion, £2 billion higher than the CML’s expectations. December’s figures represent a [...]
HSBC has announced plans to lend more than £15 billion in mortgages this year, with £3m of this ring-fenced for first-time buyers. This should provide mortgages for up to 150,000 home buyers during 2012, including 27,000 people buying their first home. The sum amounts to 11 per cent of all the mortgage borrowing predicted for [...]
The number of first time buyers increased significantly last year as more high loan to value (LTV) mortgages became available, according to the latest Mortgage Monitor from e.surv chartered surveyors. The number of mortgages advanced at an LTV of 85% or more increased by 32 per cent to 57,301 in 2011 compared with 43,379 in [...]
In the last year around seven million UK house buyers have been forced to use payday loans or unauthorised overdrafts to meet their mortgage repayments, according to housing charity Shelter. With both of these sources of finance potentially carrying extremely high interest rates, this represents one in seven Britons who could be at risk of [...]
52,854 mortgage loans were agreed in principle in November according to the latest figures from the Bank of England, just 68 higher than the previous month. Although mortgage lending in November 2011 was 12% higher than in November 2010, there has been no significant improvement for four months. Mortgage approvals remain at half their 2007 [...]
The FSA’s report into lending, due to be published next week, is expected to include proposals to help home owners in negative equity. The Council of Mortgage Lenders estimates that one in 12 homeowners are in negative equity, with their home now worth less than the price they paid for it, making it impossible for [...]
ABI calls for transparency over pension charges
A ‘protocol’ should be given to members of company and private pension schemes, giving clear information on charges, the Association of British Insurers (ABI) says. The ABI’s call for pension charges to be made clearer comes prior to the introduction of automatic enrolment in autumn, when employers will be required to enrol workers in a [...]
Report tackles shortage of rented homes
With soaring demand for accommodation pushing rents to an all-time high, a new report suggests that rules on affordable homes should be relaxed to encourage the building of homes for rent. The average rent paid by private tenants in England and Wales reached £725 a month in July according to property group LSL. The government [...]
Police seize millionth uninsured vehicle
Police have seized the millionth uninsured vehicle, indicating the size of the problem of uninsured driving in the UK. The vehicle was seized in Birmingham, which is one of UK’s motor insurance evasion hotspots. According to the Motor Insurers’ Bureau (MIB), Bordesley in Birmingham has now replaced the Barkerend area of Bradford as the place [...]
Mortgage fraud increases by 23 per cent
Information services company Experian has reported a 23 per cent increase in the number of people giving false information in order to obtain a mortgage. In the second quarter of this year, 39 out of every 10,000 mortgage applications were found to be fraudulent, compared with 32 in the 2011 second quarter. Lenders have tightened [...]
Government to crack down on hidden credit card charges
Tougher rules are to be brought in to protect consumers from hidden credit card charges and premium-rate phone calls to customer service departments. The Government has launched a consultation on how to implement the changes, which are required under a European Consumer Rights Directive and will apply to countries across the European Union. The new [...]
Which? report claims free banking is a myth
A new report by consumer group Which? highlights the high charges that can be applied to ‘free’ current accounts. While these accounts are free while in credit, charges can be applied if a customer goes overdrawn, especially if they do so without permission. Customers can also be charged for overseas transactions and for agreed overdrafts. [...]
Households more optimistic about their finances
Household finances are still deteriorating, but at a slower rate, according to the Markit household finance index. The index increased from 37.5 in July to 38.9 in August, with figures above 50 representing a positive change in household finances, and figures below 50 representing a negative change. The August figure represents the third consecutive monthly [...]
Think tank calls for council housing sell off
The Policy Exchange, a leading UK think tank, is calling for expensive social housing to be sold as it becomes vacant. This could raise £4.5 billion a year and the money could be used to create the largest social house building programme since the 1970s, the think tank suggests in a new report. Between 80,000 [...]
Barclays appoints new chairman
Barclays has announced the appointment of Sir David Walker as its new chairman. He will take over from Marcus Agius who resigned from the role after Barclays was fined £290 million by regulators in the UK and US for manipulating Libor, the interbank lending rate. The appointment of Sir David, a respected and experienced banker, [...]
Post Office stepping up mortgage offering
The Post Office is expanding its mortgage service with the introduction of mortgage specialists in its branches. Mortgages have been available from the Post Office since 2009, but applications have had to be made online or over the phone. It currently offers mortgage with deposits as low as 10 per cent and plans to enhance [...]
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