Nationwide has noted significant changes in the UK mortgage market in the past two years. Attractive standard variable rates have meant fewer borrowers coming to the end of fixed-rate deals have remortgaged onto a new fix, with the proportion of mortgage balances on fixed rates falling from 48% to 36% between the final quarter of [...]
Woolwich has announced its second round of mortgage rate cuts this month. From today, the lender is introducing a one-year tracker mortgage at 1.98% for a 60% loan-to-value (LTV) deal, which comes with a £999 fee. The Barclays-owned firm is also cutting rates on its two-year 70% LTV fixed-rate deals with a £999 fee, to [...]
Mortgage borrowers are becoming less fearful of interest rate rises and opting for variable rate loans in larger numbers. July figures from John Charcol show that while fixed-rate deals retained their popularity, variable-rate mortgages, such as tracker or discounted loans, made up 35% of all mortgages arranged through the broker, compared to 17% of the [...]
Borrowers seeking fixed and tracker rate mortgages are in for a pleasant surprise because arrangement fees have fallen by around 25% in the past 12 months. Research by moneysupermarket.com has revealed that the average two year fixed-rate deal now comes with a typical fee of £957, down 30% the £1,243 average charge this time last [...]
Nationwide has cut rates by up to 0.5% on some of its fixed-rate and tracker mortgages, from today. Reductions have been applied to its two-year and three-year fixed-rate loans and two-year tracker deal, both for new customers and remortgagers. However, also from 4th August the building society will be retaining £99 of its existing reservation [...]
The tracker versus fixed-rate dilemma that currently faces homeowners has been investigated by moneysupermarket.com, with the odds laid out as follows: Mortgage borrowers on tracker rates saw their monthly repayments fall substantially, as the base rate plummeted to 0.5%. However, further falls in the base rate are unlikely whereas a rise is inevitable, probably by [...]
Latest figures from the Bank of England show that banks and building societies are raising the cost of their variable-rate mortgage deals. The news is disappointing, given that the base rate was held at an all-time low of 0.5%, in June and three month Libor, the rate at which most lenders borrow to fund their [...]
Woolwich is cutting rates across its range of mortgages, by up to 0.7%. A two-year fix at 80% loan-to-value (LTV) ratio is available at 4.99%, representing a reduction of 0.4%, while a three year fixed-rate deal at 70% LTV comes 0.5% cheaper at 3.99%. In addition, the Barclays-owned lender’s offset tracker mortgage is down 0.5% [...]
Nationwide Building Society is increasing rates on some of its mortgage deals by up to 0.3%. From 18th March, remortgagers with a 40% deposit will pay interest at 3.93% for a two-year tracker, up from 3.63% previously. Homeowners with only 25% of equity in their properties will be charged at 5.08% for a similar deal, [...]
The UK’s third-largest mortgage lender, Nationwide, is cutting the cost on its fixed-rate home loans by up to 1%. The building society will be reducing rates on its two, three and five year fixed-rate deals from 21st January. A two-year fix will be available at 4.39% (down from 4.88%) for up to 60% loan-to-value (LTV) [...]
During the past 12 months, lenders have steadily increased their margins on fixed and tracker rate mortgages, according to research by financial website, Moneyfacts. Over the past year, the Bank of England’s base rate has fallen from 5.5% to 2%. In addition the cost of borrowing on the money markets has decreased: three month sterling [...]
Alliance & Leicester (A&L) has unveiled a new range of fixed-rate mortgages, available from 4th December. The lender, which is part of the Santander group, is reducing rates by up to 0.90%. Its offering includes a two-year deal at 4.94% (previously 5.79%), fixed until 31st December 2010. Customers can borrow up to 75% of a [...]
Abbey is cutting the cost of its fixed-rate deals with maximum loan-to-value (LTV) ratios of 60% and 75%, by up to 0.35%. The bank has also upped the maximum loan size on its two-year tracker and fixed-rate loans with a maximum 60% LTV, to £550,000. From 30th October, two and three-year loans at 60% LTV [...]
Nationwide Building Society is increasing its rates by 0.2% across its range of fixed-rate mortgages, from 3rd October. The UK’s biggest building society says it is responding to volatile money market swap rates and keeping pace with its competitors. The past fortnight has seen a plethora of rate increases from leading lenders following the deepening [...]
Abbey’s latest cut in mortgage rates offers a glimmer of hope to potential first-time buyers because the lender is reducing interest on some deals that require only a 15% deposit. In recent weeks leading lenders have been trimming rates regularly, with Co-operative Bank, HSBC and Nationwide all taking action this week. However, the best rates [...]
From 5th September, Abbey is reducing rates on a number of its mortgage deals. The lender is cutting interest on its two, three and five-year fixed-rate home loans by up to 0.30%. In the case of the five-year fix with a 75% loan-to-value (LTV) ratio the rate comes down to 5.89%. The two-year at 75% [...]
RBS and its subsidiary, NatWest, have cut rates by up to 0.35% on fixed and tracker mortgages. The reductions are the second to be applied since the beginning of August and will benefit new customers and existing borrowers who need to remortgage. Applications can be made through RBS and NatWest branches and RBS and NatWest [...]
Financial data provider, Moneyfacts, has announced that rates on the typical two-year fixed mortgage have returned to their 2007 levels. Interest on the average two-year fixed-rate deal is now down to 6.59% from a high of 7.08% earlier this year. However, potential borrowers will need a hefty deposit to benefit from the fall because the [...]
Yorkshire Building Society has today launched a two-year fixed-rate mortgage with interest at 5.54%. The lender is also tempting customers with a reduced fee of £895. In addition, both Yorkshire and Abbey have announced rate cuts on various loans. Yorkshire has made amendments to an existing two-year fixed-rate mortgage that carried a 3% fee: the [...]
Moneysupermarket.com is alerting homeowners to the fact that the average two-year tracker mortgage is offering increasingly good value. The price comparison website’s weekly credit crunch monitor shows that at the beginning of June, there was little difference between the cost of the average two-year fix and the average two-year tracker. However, the latest update puts [...]
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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