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 [...]
Research from the Halifax has revealed first-time buyers are still struggling to get onto the property ladder unless they have a hefty deposit. The mortgage lender said a first-time buyer has to find at least £29,000 in order to secure a mortgage, while those in London require almost double that (£50,000). Since the credit crunch [...]
The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) is predicting that the housing market will remain subdued in 2011, due to uncertainty surrounding the economy and the ongoing mortgage rationing by lenders. Over recent times, demand has been weak as many buyers have adopted a “wait and see” approach as uncertainty continues to surround the economy and [...]
New mortgage lending showed a month-on-month fall of 4% in October, with 46,000 loans for house purchases advanced, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML). At £6.7 billion, the value of the advances was down 6% on September and 12% on October 2009, although last year’s figure was bolstered by buyers taking advantage of [...]
First-time buyers (FTBs) are still struggling to get a foot on the ladder, despite a steep rise in the number of mortgage products available. Mortgage deals for those with a small deposit has doubled, according to Moneyfacts.co.uk, with more than 1,000 mortgages on the market for those with a 20% deposit or less. However, while [...]
Property website Rightmove has suggested that first-time buyers (FTBs) are returning to the housing market. According to a report by the property website, which questioned 25,584 potential buyers last month, FTBs are encouraged by house price falls. It found that around 33% of FTBs expect the cost of property to be lower this time next [...]
The latest house price index from the Nationwide Building Society has revealed a 0.7% fall for the month of October compared with September. The latest house price gain means the annual rate of house price inflation fell to 1.4%, down from 3.1% in September, with the average UK home costing £164,381. Meanwhile, the three-month-on-three-month rate [...]
Demand for house purchase mortgages continued to be weak in July, the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has reported. In what is traditionally a strong month, there were only 56,000 house purchase loans (worth £8.4 billion), although volumes had increased from 53,000 a year earlier. Remortgaging activity remained flat when compared with June (28,000 loans) [...]
Redrow chairman, Steve Morgan, is calling attention to the plight of first-time buyers, pointing out that they are forced into saving upwards of 20% of the value of their first homes, compared with an historic first-time buyer deposit of around 6%. With demands for large deposits remaining “the major constraint” to the full recovery of [...]
Despite the doom and gloom surrounding the housing market currently, there is some positive news from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML). According to the CML, 52,000 new loans were granted to home buyers in June – 19% higher than in May and up 14% on June 2009. CML economist Paul Samter points out that [...]
There are fewer first-time buyers in England and Wales than at any time in the last 35 years. Research from the Home Builders’ Federation (HBF) also suggests that nearly a third of men and a fifth of women aged 20 to 34 are still living at home with parents, as the average age of an [...]
First-time buyers and homemovers are flocking to mortgage advisers, according to unbiased.co.uk. In the first six months of the year, the financial website recorded a 24% rise in consumers looking for advice from a whole of market mortgage broker, compared with a year earlier. The website, received over 45,000 enquiries, with potential first-time buyers leading [...]
Mortgage borrowers who moved home in May saw their mortgage interest payments accounting for the lowest proportion of income since the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) began collecting data, in 1975. CML members made 27,100 loans to home movers, up 19% on a year earlier, while the proportion of income spent on mortgage interest stood [...]
First-time buyers accounted for only 35% of all house purchase loans in April 2010, the lowest proportion since September 2007. According to the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML), the low market share is linked to the need for substantial deposits. The lenders’ body comments: “Although there has been some increase this year in the number [...]
House prices were 10.1% higher in April than a year earlier, having gained 0.4% during March. New figures from the Department for Communities and Local Government put the average cost of a UK home at £207,516, taking into account a 0.9% rise over the three months to the end of April. However, the quarterly increase [...]
Housebuilder Bovis has joined forces with Barclays to offer a mortgage aimed at first-time buyers, through the bank’s Woolwich lending arm. However, the 90% loan-to-value (LTV) deal, which comes with unemployment protection for three years from exchange of contracts, is only available to those purchasing a Bovis home. For the maximum 90% LTV, the rate [...]
In a speech delivered to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors yesterday, Housing Minister Grant Shapps demonstrated his support for first-time buyers by announcing that “the age of aspiration is back”. Putting aside arguments that a fall in homeownership in the UK could be beneficial, Mr Shapps stated: “Most people still want to own their [...]
Phone fraudsters stealing bank card pins
Fraudsters using a phone scam to trick bank card holders into revealing their pin numbers stole £750,000 in the first four months of this year. This is the same amount stolen through this scam in the whole of last year. The fraudster telephones a bank customer, often someone elderly or vulnerable, telling them that their [...]
FSA rules out ban on interest-only mortgages
Speculation that the Financial Services Authority would ban interest-only mortgages as part of its Mortgage Market Review has proved to be unfounded. However, lenders will be required to monitor the performance of the investment product taken out by the customer to repay the mortgage at the end of its term. Investments are performing poorly because [...]
Bank of England may end free in-credit banking
A director of the Bank of England has warned that official intervention could be considered to end the ‘dangerous myth of free in-credit banking’. Andrew Bailey has already spoken out against free banking in relation to the mis-selling of financial products. In a speech made available to media, he reiterated his concern, saying that it [...]
Bank of England votes against more economic stimulus
The Bank of England voted against a further round of quantitative easing, at its latest Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting. Just one member, David Miles, voted for further asset purchase to encourage growth in the UK economy, while the other eight members voted to keep the Bank’s quantitative easing programme steady at £325bn. The minutes [...]
Catalogue debt growing says helpline
Calls from people concerned about their debts with mail order catalogues accounted for more than 12 per cent of all calls received by National Debtline last year, compared with just 8 per cent in 2007. More people were concerned about catalogue debt than about payday loans, mortgage or rent, according to the Money Advice Trust [...]
Homeserve faces mis-selling investigation
HomeServe, which provides emergency insurance cover and domestic repairs to households in the UK, is to be investigated by the Financial Services Authority (FSA). Issues over the possible mis-selling of household emergency policies were uncovered last October during an internal review at the Walsall-based company. Homeserve’s call centre staff were found to be selling ‘Complete [...]
OFT warns Wonga over debt collection methods
Payday loan company Wonga used aggressive and misleading methods to collect debts from customers, the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has found. Wonga sent letter and emails to certain customers suggesting they had committed fraud and threatening to report them to the police if they did not act in the way Wonga suggested. The company [...]
NS&I re-launches investment account
National Savings & Investments (NS&I) has re-launched its Investment Account at a higher interest rate than it previously offered. The account now offers 0.75 per cent before tax, compared with between 0.2 and 0.3 per cent previously, depending on the account balance. Deposits and withdrawals on the account can no longer be made at Post [...]
Rightmove reports property downsizing trend
Two in five property owners planning to sell in the next year are planning to ‘trade down’, compared with one in four who plan to ‘trade up’. A survey by property website Rightmove found that moving to a smaller home is the main reason for moving in nine out of the ten regions in the [...]
More people failing to save for retirement
The proportion of people with no pension savings has grown from 20 per cent to 22 per cent over the past year, according to Scottish Widows’ latest survey. The pension provider surveyed 5,200 adults in the UK, aged 30 or over, and earning at least £10,000 a year, for its annual review of pensions. Ian [...]
About | Privacy | Disclaimer | Resources | XML Feeds | Press Releases | Directory | Contact us
