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%, [...]
Borrowers seeking fixed and tracker rate mortgages are in for a pleasant surprise because arrangement fees have fallen by around 25% in the past 12 months. Research by moneysupermarket.com has revealed that the average two year fixed-rate deal now comes with a typical fee of £957, down 30% the £1,243 average charge this time last [...]
Gross mortgage lending declined to an estimated £10.4 billion in April, the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has reported. The total fell 9%, from £11.4 billion, in March and is 60% below the £26.1 billion figure for April 2008. The body points out that seasonal factors have to be taken into account as Easter fell [...]
Nationwide has reported a 1.8% fall in UK house prices, in February. The lender’s monthly index puts the average cost of home at £147,746, or 17.6% less than a year ago (£179,358). The building society’s chief economist, Fionnuala Earley, suggests that a combination of falling prices and interest rates could mean that when confidence returns [...]
The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has reported that the number of mortgages for house purchases fell 49% in 2008. Just 516,000 such loans were agreed during the year, representing the lowest level of activity since 1974. In December, house purchase loans slid to 32,000 down 5% on November to the lowest level since monthly [...]
Nationwide has published its latest house price survey showing the cost of the average UK home falling again, in October, to £158,872. The monthly loss stood at 1.4%, taking the annual decline to 14.6%, or £27,172, in terms of the average house price. The figures compare with a September monthly fall of 1.7% and an [...]
US shoppers tightened their belts even further in September after retail sales for the month were down. Even discount stores including Wal-Mart, the world’s largest retailer, and wholesale club operator Costco, both reported strong sales, but failed to meet Wall Street estimates. Wal-Mart reported a 2.4% gain in like-for-like sales, which was slightly under analysts [...]
It has been yet another weekend full of news in the banking sector which has sent shares in London and Europe crashing. Meltdown Monday saw the FTSE 100 index down by over 6% by mid-morning to 4675 – a fall of 304.6 points. Banks including HBOS fell 32p, while Royal Bank of Scotland lost 26p. [...]
The CBI’s latest survey of retailers has revealed another poor month after retail sales fell for the sixth consecutive month in September. However, the figures revealed that supermarkets bucked the trend, continuing to experience steady growth. The CBI discovered that approximately one-fifth of retailers experienced rising sales this month while 48% said they were down [...]
The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has published data for July and is describing gross mortgage lending for the month as “subdued”. The Council’s members, which provide around 98% of all residential mortgage lending in the UK, collectively lent £24.8 billion. The figure represents a 27% decline on July 2007 but is 5.0% up on [...]
Figures from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) have revealed that consumers continue to rein in their spending, after it revealed that like-for-like retail sales fell 0.9% compared with July 2007. However, sales of food and drink were up, but against weak sales compared with a year earlier. The BRC described it as ‘frivolous shopping off [...]
Nationwide Building Society is reducing interest rates on some of its fixed-rate and tracker mortgages this week, with rates on its fixed loans for house buyers falling up to 0.07%. A two-year fix is available from 6.58% with a £599 fee or 6.98% with no fee, while rates on the lender’s newly-launched two-year tracker start [...]
M&S Money launches 3% cash ISA
M&S Money has launched an Advantage Cash ISA paying 3 per cent, and which allows transfers in from other ISAs. It can be opened with a minimum deposit of £100 lump sum followed by minimum monthly deposits of £25. The 3% rate is variable, but there is no short-term bonus so the return won’t plummet [...]
Google suspends UK Compare Mortgages site
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 [...]
AA launches ‘black-box’ policy for young drivers
The AA is launching an innovative car insurance policy called Drivesafe which could help younger drivers save up to £850 a year. Younger drivers already pay substantially higher premiums than other motorists and these costs are increasing. A new study by Confused.com suggests insurance costs for younger driver have gone up by 5.7 per cent [...]
ATOL scheme updated to protect online bookers
ATOL, a financial protection scheme managed by the Civil Aviation Authority, is being extended to protect up to six million more holidays a year. The scheme ensures that holiday makers do not lose out financially if a travel company collapses, and that they are not stranded abroad. An increase in the number of holidays booked [...]
Home repossessions lowest for four years
The number of UK homes repossessed fell to 36,200 in 2011, significantly below the Council of Mortgage Lenders’ forecast of 40,000, and lower than 2010 when 37,100 homes were repossessed. With interest rates remaining low and lenders adopting a sympathetic attitude to customers in financial difficulty, repossessions fell to their lowest level since 2007. However, [...]
Monthly pay lasting just 17 days
Workers are running out of money just 17 days after receiving their monthly pay, according to new research by the Halifax bank. This means that the average UK worker spends half the month worrying about money. The study, based on the responses of more than 2,000 adults, found that 10 per cent of workers start [...]
Women disadvantaged by auto-enrolment changes
Government proposals to increase the auto-enrolment threshold to £10,000 could put 1.8 million women at risk of missing out on a pension, the TUC has warned. Under the auto-enrolment scheme, which will be phased in from October, private sector employers will automatically enrol workers between the age of 22 years and the state pension age, [...]
Emergency household repairs company Homeserve is taking longer than expected to get back on track after its operations were suspended last October. The company expected customer numbers to fall by 5% this year but it has increased this estimate to 8% and announced the loss of 200 jobs. It estimates that renewal revenue in 2013 [...]
Sale rumoured for Yorkshire and Clydesdale banks
There is growing speculation that National Australia Bank (NAB) may sell Yorkshire Bank and Clydesdale Bank after the Australian parent company announced a strategic review of the two banks’ operations. The Australian economy is performing well and NAB reported strong profits for the final quarter of 2011 but with the UK economy at a virtual [...]
More women experiencing debt difficulties
Women in Debt, which offers female-focused debt advice, has warned that the number of UK women facing serious debt has grown significantly over recent years. The organisation believes that more women will need advice on solving debt problems in the future because they are building up an unsustainable level of indebtedness. Women in Debt’s director, [...]
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