Both the number of homes sold in England and Wales and the prices achieved fell during May, according to Acadametrics. The number of properties changing hands declined by an estimated 18% from April, while the value of the average home dipped by 0.2%. On an annual basis, prices in England and Wales were 9.7% higher [...]
House prices dipped by 0.4% in May, following a 0.1% decline in April, Halifax has reported. However, taking an average of the latest three months, the value of the typical home increased 6.9% on the same period of 2009, reflecting the biggest annual rate of change since October 2007 (8.9%). Prices are therefore 8.3% above [...]
Nationwide’s latest house price index shows prices rising by 0.5% in May, taking the average value of a home to £169,162. The increase leaves prices just 9.5% below their 2007 market peak, although the annual rate of inflation slipped back to 9.8% in May, down from 10.5% a month earlier. Meanwhile, the more reliable three-monthly-on-three [...]
Net mortgage lending increased by £0.5 billion in April, according to Bank of England figures. The growth rate for the month proved stronger than in March (£0.2 billion) but was below the previous six-month average of £1.3 billion. The number of loan approvals for house purchase also showed some improvement at 49,871, compared with the [...]
Those with a yearning to live by the sea should head north, according to research from Halifax. The lender has declared Withernsea in the East Riding of Yorkshire the most affordable seaside town in England and Wales, with house prices typically three times local annual gross average earnings. All ten most affordable seaside towns are [...]
House prices in England and Wales showed an 8.5% annual gain in April, the average value of a home having risen 0.2% on March, according to the Land Registry. The figure reflects the highest annual change since September 2007 and takes the average house price to £165,596. The North East experienced the greatest monthly rise [...]
In its May affordability index, FindaProperty.com has reported that first-time buyer house prices have increased for the fourth consecutive month, taking the average asking price of a starter home to £155,677. The figure is 1.2% higher than a year ago and at its highest since February 2009. At the same time, affordability has improved for [...]
The housing market in Scotland is showing signs of a weak recovery, according to the latest Scottish House Price Monitor from Lloyds TSB Scotland. In the first quarter of 2010, the value of the average Scottish home rose 0.7%, compared with the previous three months, to £157,801. The increase is a shadow of the 5.9% [...]
The latest house price index from Acadametrics shows the value of the average home in England and Wales rising by 0.5% in April, compared with March, to £225,963. The research tracks the twelfth consecutive month-on-month rise, which has given an annual increase of 12.9%. Acadametrics describes the recovery as “significant” but points out that London [...]
Halifax has reported that UK house prices increased by an annual 6.6% in April. However, a month-on-month fall of 0.1%, took the value of the typical home down to £168,202, or £13,539 above its April 2009 trough. Commenting on the figures, the lender’s housing economist, Martin Ellis, says: “The underlying rate of house price growth [...]
Latest figures from Assetz House Price Watch show UK house prices 8.8% higher in March than a year earlier, with the average value of a home increasing to £198,960. The property investment firm, which claims to produce the only fully-inclusive summary of the major UK house price indices, also reports that prices have risen steadily [...]
UK house prices rose by an average 0.2% in April (compared with 0.3% a month earlier), as instructions for house sales outstripped new enquiries from potential buyers. According to Hometrack, the number of new buyers registering with agents rose by 1%, the smallest increase so far this year, while growth in new instructions stood at [...]
House sellers increased the average asking price for a home by 2.6%, or £5,898, in the month to the 10th April, to £235,512. New figures from Rightmove.co.uk show this month’s rise taking prices 6% higher than a year earlier, having built on a 0.1% increase in March. However, with over 25,000 properties put up for [...]
Halifax has reported that house prices rose by 1.1% in March, compared to a month earlier. The increase partly offsets February’s 1.6% fall and takes the average value of a home to £168,521. According to the lender, price rises have been recorded for eight of the past nine months, producing an annual gain of 5.2%. [...]
UK house prices rose by 0.7% in March, compared with a month earlier, according to Nationwide. The increase almost reverses the 0.8% month-on-month fall recorded in February and takes the average cost of a home to £164,519, or 9% more than a year ago. However, the three-month-on-three-month rate of inflation edged down to 1.6% in [...]
In February, the value of the average home in England and Wales rose 7% year-on-year, to £164,455, according to new figures from the Land Registry. The increase points towards a “strengthening in the housing market”, although the monthly house price change was negative, at -0.3%. On a regional basis, Wales was the region with the [...]
Affordability for first-time buyers has continued to improve, according to FindaProperty.com. The website’s latest index suggests it is now easier for first-time buyers to get onto the property ladder than it has been at any time since the start of the credit crisis, in 2007. Stable prices and more borrower-friendly lending criteria are responsible for [...]
The average cost of a two-year fixed-rate mortgage fell to a six-and-a-half-year low during February, according to new figures from the Bank of England. The average rate stood to 3.88%, down from 3.97% a month earlier to a level last seen in July 2003. Five-year fixed-rates also eased last month, declining to an average 5.49%, [...]
Hometrack has reported a 0.3% rise in house prices in February, compared to January. Southern England continued to see the greatest upward pressure on prices, with average values in London up by 0.7% in the month. According to the housing intelligence firm, February also saw the first year-on-year rise since March 2008, at 0.4%, and [...]
In the first of the UK house price indices for February, Nationwide has reported a 1% drop in the average value of a home, compared to a month earlier. The decline ends nine consecutive monthly rises and the building society points out that bad weather and the end of the stamp duty holiday in January [...]
Phone fraudsters stealing bank card pins
Fraudsters using a phone scam to trick bank card holders into revealing their pin numbers stole £750,000 in the first four months of this year. This is the same amount stolen through this scam in the whole of last year. The fraudster telephones a bank customer, often someone elderly or vulnerable, telling them that their [...]
FSA rules out ban on interest-only mortgages
Speculation that the Financial Services Authority would ban interest-only mortgages as part of its Mortgage Market Review has proved to be unfounded. However, lenders will be required to monitor the performance of the investment product taken out by the customer to repay the mortgage at the end of its term. Investments are performing poorly because [...]
Bank of England may end free in-credit banking
A director of the Bank of England has warned that official intervention could be considered to end the ‘dangerous myth of free in-credit banking’. Andrew Bailey has already spoken out against free banking in relation to the mis-selling of financial products. In a speech made available to media, he reiterated his concern, saying that it [...]
Bank of England votes against more economic stimulus
The Bank of England voted against a further round of quantitative easing, at its latest Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting. Just one member, David Miles, voted for further asset purchase to encourage growth in the UK economy, while the other eight members voted to keep the Bank’s quantitative easing programme steady at £325bn. The minutes [...]
Catalogue debt growing says helpline
Calls from people concerned about their debts with mail order catalogues accounted for more than 12 per cent of all calls received by National Debtline last year, compared with just 8 per cent in 2007. More people were concerned about catalogue debt than about payday loans, mortgage or rent, according to the Money Advice Trust [...]
Homeserve faces mis-selling investigation
HomeServe, which provides emergency insurance cover and domestic repairs to households in the UK, is to be investigated by the Financial Services Authority (FSA). Issues over the possible mis-selling of household emergency policies were uncovered last October during an internal review at the Walsall-based company. Homeserve’s call centre staff were found to be selling ‘Complete [...]
OFT warns Wonga over debt collection methods
Payday loan company Wonga used aggressive and misleading methods to collect debts from customers, the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has found. Wonga sent letter and emails to certain customers suggesting they had committed fraud and threatening to report them to the police if they did not act in the way Wonga suggested. The company [...]
NS&I re-launches investment account
National Savings & Investments (NS&I) has re-launched its Investment Account at a higher interest rate than it previously offered. The account now offers 0.75 per cent before tax, compared with between 0.2 and 0.3 per cent previously, depending on the account balance. Deposits and withdrawals on the account can no longer be made at Post [...]
Rightmove reports property downsizing trend
Two in five property owners planning to sell in the next year are planning to ‘trade down’, compared with one in four who plan to ‘trade up’. A survey by property website Rightmove found that moving to a smaller home is the main reason for moving in nine out of the ten regions in the [...]
More people failing to save for retirement
The proportion of people with no pension savings has grown from 20 per cent to 22 per cent over the past year, according to Scottish Widows’ latest survey. The pension provider surveyed 5,200 adults in the UK, aged 30 or over, and earning at least £10,000 a year, for its annual review of pensions. Ian [...]
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