A new report from professional advice website, Unbiased.co.uk, show mortgage enquiries from first-time buyers regaining ground, after a slight fall in June. The firm recorded a 43% increase in July, indicating that some of those aspiring to homeownership are convinced the UK housing market has bottomed out. Unbiased chief executive, David Elms, comments: “Many first-time [...]
Financial website, Moneyfacts, has named the UK’s top mortgage providers in its 2009 awards, which were presented in London last week at a ceremony that recognises the best products and services in the personal finance world. HSBC swept the board, named winner in the Best Remortgage Provider; Best First Time Buyer Mortgage Provider and Best [...]
Alliance & Leicester (A&L) has launched a new mortgage aimed at first-time buyers with a 15% deposit. The three-year fix, which is fee free, comes with a maximum loan-to-value ratio of 85%, an interest rate of 5.99%, a maximum loan size of £250,000 and a free valuation. Latest figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders [...]
In its latest First Time Buyer Affordability Review, Halifax has reported a significant improvement in the mortgage payments to earnings ratio. For the average first-time buyer, mortgage repayments account for 31% of average income, down from a peak of 48% in 2007 and below the long-term average of 37% recorded over the past 25 years. [...]
The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has reported a 4% rise in mortgage approvals for house purchases in February. During the month 24,300 loans were sanctioned worth a combined £3.1 billion. The figure compares with 23,400 loans in January worth £3.1 billion but is around one-third of the average February total of 76,000 between 2002 [...]
The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has reported that in November, new mortgage lending continued to fall. The number of new home loans approved fell 17% on October to 33,000 and was 59% below the level recorded in November 2007. The outlook for the next few months is bleak, with the CML predicting that lending [...]
Potential first-time buyers are in a stronger position to purchase a home than at any time in the past five years. According to Halifax, the first-time buyer affordability ratio has steadily improved during 2008 and the trend should continue in 2009. Research from the lender indicates that the average house price to earnings ratio has [...]
The Council of Mortgage Lenders has reported that 39,900 loans for house purchases were approved in October, 14% more than in the previous month. First-time buyers secured 15,400 loans and home movers 24,500. The value of lending was up 10% on September, totalling £5.5 billion. However, both volume and value were down year-on-year by 52% [...]
The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has reported that the temporary rise in the stamp duty threshold, to £175,000, benefited 51% of homebuyers during September. In the same month last year, when the threshold stood at £125,000, only 22% of homebuyers escaped the tax. The CML also notes that in September, the number of mortgages [...]
The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has reported that almost 50% first-time buyers under the age of 30 look for family help to secure their first mortgage. Financial help from relatives has always played a part in a fortunate minority getting a foot on the property ladder but the need has been increasing; in 2006, [...]
Abbey has launched a new type of account aimed at helping those saving for a deposit for their first home. The First Home Saver account is available to potential first-time buyers aged between 16 and 35. It pays a variable rate of 8% in return for the commitment to save for a deposit but does [...]
The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has reported that in July, 47,400 house purchase loans worth £7.1 billion were approved. The figures are similar to June’s but represents a 51% fall in volume and 54% decline in value on July 2007. Remortgages rose by 14% to 85,000 but in value terms were 16% down on [...]
NatWest is encouraging would-be first-time buyers with the launch of a new savings account aimed at those putting money aside for their deposit. The First Home Saver Account provides tax-free cashback of up to £5,000 for a basic rate tax payer who goes on to complete a NatWest mortgage. For those paying tax at the [...]
Mortgage brokers are seeing more first-time buyers, as a shrinking mortgage market draws those still brave enough to attempt to get a foot on the property ladder to seek independent advice. According to the Council of Mortgage Lenders, the proportion of first-time buyer mortgages taken out through a mortgage intermediary rose to 82.5% in the [...]
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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