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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
LSL Property Services, which includes Your Move and Reeds Rains, announced a 0.4 per cent drop in rent for a ‘typical’ property to £717 in November. Rents have been rising throughout the year, driven by increased demand from people unable to afford to buy a propert and November’s decline marked the first fall in rent [...]
October was a difficult month for first-time buyers according to the latest figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML). Ten per cent fewer home loans were offered to first-time buyers compared with September and the average deposit they had to find was a hefty 20 per cent. In the current economic climate and with [...]
In a move that could cause sales of first-time buyer properties to rise sharply early next year, the current exemption on stamp duty will not be extended as hoped. In his Autumn Statement yesterday, the Chancellor said that this concession has proved ineffective in increasing the number of first time buyers entering the market, therefore [...]
Despite the slump in the housing market, Nationwide Building Society’s gross mortgage lending increased by 48% to £8.9 billion in the six months to September. Although the number of first-time buyers in the market continued to fall, Nationwide lent more than £1.2 billion to this group in the first half of the year, 3 per [...]
David Cameron has announced a new housing strategy designed to get “Britain building again” but Labour claims that the promise of £400m to kickstart stalled developments is ‘small beer’. From July next year, the “Get Britain Building Fund” is expected to support the building of 16,000 new homes for which planning permission has already been [...]
The Chancellor George Osborne is expected to announce a scheme to help first-time buyers in his autumn statement on November 29, according to a report in The Telegraph. The statement, which will set out plans to encourage growth in the UK’s economy, could include a mortgage indemnity guarantee scheme, which would see the government underwriting [...]
Although the mortgage market is currently stable, the outlook remains uncertain in the face of the eurozone crisis. The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has reported that 48,200 mortgages were taken out to buy homes in September, two per cent less than in the previous month. However there was a 3 per cent improvement in [...]
The CBI is calling for a radical rethink in the way house purchases are funded including allowing buyers to dip into their pension pot for the deposit on their first home. The number of first-time buyers fell from a high of 167,400 in 2001 to 36,200 in 2011 with unaffordable deposits and financial insecurity making [...]
The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has reported the number of loans for house purchase rose in July. According to the Council, there were 48,400 loans advanced for house purchase in the month – up by 1,000 from June’s figure but almost 7,000 lower when compared with July 2010. Commenting on today’s figures, Paul Smee, [...]
According to the Land Registry, house prices rose by 1.3% in July compared with June, putting the average cost of a home at £163,049 in England and Wales. On an annual basis, the Registry said prices are 2.1% lower. It must be noted that the Land Registry compiles its data from completed transactions and therefore [...]
The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has today reported the number of loans for house purchase rose in June. According to the Council, there were 46,700 loans advanced for house purchase in the month – a rise of 22% compared with the previous month but 11% lower on an annual basis. However, despite the annual [...]
The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has reported that the number of loans for house purchase rose in May. According to the Council, there were 41,500 loans worth £5.9 billion advanced for house purchase in the month, up from 40,800 in April. However, the figure remains lower than the 43,800 loans advanced in May 2010. [...]
A survey by LSL Property Services has revealed rents in England and Wales continue to rise, with the average rent hitting almost £700 last month. May represented the fourth consecutive month that the average rental cost rose. According to LSL, the average rent stands at £696 – 4.4% higher than this time last year. However, [...]
A survey by the Halifax has revealed many first-time buyers fear they will not be able to get on the property ladder. The survey of 4,000 non-homeowners found two-thirds believe home ownership is unattainable. Stricter lending criteria, which has resulted in lenders demanding large deposits, is deterring many would-be homebuyers, according to the survey. Almost [...]
HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has today revealed a slight rise in the number of homes sold in February in the UK. According to HMRC, 57,000 homes worth at least £40,000 or more were sold in the month – 4,000 more than January‘s levels. The figures come as the British Bankers’ Association (BBA) revealed a [...]
Chancellor George Osborne will deliver his Budget speech today at 1230 GMT, which will be aimed at boosting growth amid the fragile recovery. Mr Osborne is describing it as a “budget for growth” despite the tough austerity measures which threaten to push Britain back into recession, according to some economists. However, many believe the Chancellor [...]
Five local authorities are piloting a scheme which is set to help first-time buyers get on the property ladder. Since the credit crunch more than three years ago, first-time buyers have been struggling to secure a mortgage unless they have a substantial deposit. It is hoped that the scheme, called Local Lend a Hand, will [...]
Consumers holding back on borrowing
Personal loan, credit card and overdraft borrowing is being repaid at the highest rate since January 2011. The British Bankers’ Association (BBA) reported net consumer credit repayments of £305 million in February. Consumers borrowed £7 billion on credit cards but £7.3 billion was repaid. The ongoing squeeze on household incomes is making consumers more careful [...]
Land Registry reports fall in multi-million home sales
The number of £2m-plus homes sold in England and Wales fell to 103 in December 2011, 18 per cent lower than the figure for December 2010. Eighty of the £2m-plus properties sold during the month were located in London, where prices have been rising faster than in other parts of the UK. The most popular [...]
OFT updates guidelines for debt management firms
The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has today published new guidelines for firms offering debt management advice or credit repair services to consumers. Complaints about debt management firms have increased significantly in recent years; 546 complaints were made to the Financial Ombudsman Service last year compared with 463 in 2010. The complaints included concern over [...]
ABI warns homeowners to watch out for subsidence
The UK has suffered the driest 18 months since records and with the south east and east Anglia already officially in a state of drought the Association of British Insurers (ABI) is warning home owners to be aware of the risk of subsidence. Changing water levels in the ground can cause movement in the foundations [...]
Budget brings bad news for pensioners
Changes announced in today’s budget mean that four million pensioners will be worse off. The budget included controversial proposals to lower the income tax allowance for people over 65 to £9,205 from April. This will bring pensioners in line with the general population. The over 65s currently benefit from a more generous tax-free allowance of [...]
Chancellor announces budget that rewards work
Delivering his third Budget, Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne, said that it would help those who aspired to do better for themselves and for their families. ‘Britain is going to earn its way in the world’ he said. He promised far reaching tax reform, creating a system that was simple to understand for ordinary [...]
Nationwide restricts interest-only mortgages
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 latest official figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show that inflation fell to 3.4 per cent in February, from 3.6 per cent in the previous month, according to the Consumer Prices Index (CPI). Using the Retail Prices Index (RIP) measurement, which includes housing costs such a mortgage interest and council tax, inflation [...]
Property prices up 5% in March
UK house prices increased by £3,687 to £236,939 in March, a 4.9 per cent increase compared with the 2011 first quarter. The figures, from Rightmove’s house price index, represent the largest first-quarter rise in property prices since 2004, boosting hopes for an continued improvement in the market for the rest of the year. In London, [...]
Hole in the wall use reaches record levels
The use of ATMs (automated teller machines) increased to record levels last year according to the latest figures from the Payments Council. UK customers made 2.87 billion transactions at ‘hole in the wall’ machines during the year, accounting for total withdrawals of £191 billion, an average of £67 per visit. The represented the highest value [...]
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