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 [...]
The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has today reported mortgage lending plunged in January. Mortgage lending fell by 29% in January on a monthly basis, while lending was also 12% down on the year. There were just 28,500 approvals during the month – the lowest level since February 2009. The Council highlights that traditionally December [...]
The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has today reported mortgage lending remained weak in November. However, the month is traditionally a quiet one as prospective buyers opt to wait until the New Year to purchase a home. The number of loans approved for those buying a new home remained flat at 44,000 during the month [...]
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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