News Tag: first quarter
July 19, 2009
The number of homeowners opting for equity release rose by 5% during the second quarter of 2009, compared with the previous three months.
However, on an annual basis volumes were down 22% at 5,328.
Safe Home Income Plans (SHIP) the body that represents the UK's equity release providers, has also reported a 14% increase in the sale of drawdown plans, which have been proving ...
Equity release sales increase 5%
by Gill Montia
July 5, 2009
The days in which Britons used their houses as banks and paid for home improvements and lifestyles by regularly remortgaging and drawing on equity have long passed.
Stricter lending criteria and falling house prices resulted in homeowners paying back a record £8.1 billion during the first quarter of 2009, according to the Bank of England.
The combined mortgage debt held by UK ...
Britons repay mortgage debt at record levels
by Gill Montia
May 19, 2009
Lloyds TSB Scotland has published its latest review of the region's housing market, in which it concludes that while Scottish house prices continue to fall, sales are beginning to rise.
In the three months to the end of April, the cost of the average home fell 4.3% to £148,990.
The rate of decline is ahead of the previous quarter, when prices fell 2.3% ...
Scottish housing market presents mixed picture
by Gill Montia
May 15, 2009
The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has reported that repossessions by first-charge mortgage lenders stood at 12,800 during the first quarter of 2009.
The total includes buy-to-let loans but excludes instances where a "receiver of rent" has been appointed as an alternative to repossession.
The figure compares with 10,400 repossessions in the final quarter of 2008, and 8,500 a ...
Repossession rise but lag behind lenders’ forecast
by Gill Montia
April 29, 2009
According to Bank of Spain estimates released today, the Spanish economy has shrunk by 1.8 percent in the first quarter and hinted that gross domestic product (GDP) has fallen by 2.9 percent in the last year, even though the Spanish government had, up until recently, said that the GDP decrease would be no more than 1.6 percent for ...
Spain’s economy contracts at fastest rate in 40 years
by Peter Charalambous
April 24, 2009
Persimmon has added to signs of recovery in the UK housing market by reporting improved results for the first quarter of 2009.
However, chief executive Mike Farley has warned that the market is still fragile, with sales down nearly 30% year-on-year to £960 million.
Visitor levels were down 15% compared to a year ago, although the company described this as "resilient" given it now ...
Persimmon cautious as recovery beckons
by Gill Montia
April 16, 2009
Despite high hopes for the equity release market during the fallout from the credit crisis, the first quarter of 2009 has produced disappointing results.
The Key Retirement Solutions (KRS) Equity Release Market Monitor shows a decline in take-up compared to a year ago, with the number of plans sold down 7% during the first three months of the year.
Actual equity release lending for the ...
Equity release lending plummets
by Gill Montia
May 15, 2008
The Department for Communities and Local Government has released statistics for housebuilding in England during the first quarter of 2008.
New housing starts were down 21% on the final quarter of last year (to 32,100) and 24% below the level recorded in the first quarter of 2007.
Meanwhile, housing completions for all dwellings in England fell to around 39,500 in the ...
Housebuilding slumps as developers delay new starts
by Gill Montia
May 14, 2008
The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has published mortgage lending figures for the first quarter of the year, showing that the number of loans approved for house purchases fell to 142,000.
The figure is slightly above the lowest on record, which was in 1975, when 140,000 home loans were approved in the first three months of the year.
Gross mortgage lending stood ...
Lending for new house purchases plummets
by Gill Montia
