The Office for National Statistics (ONS) today revealed UK industrial output recovered in February after the slump experienced in January. According to the ONS, output grew by 1.3% in February after the 1% fall in January – boosted by an increase in production of food and drink, electrical and optical equipment as well as bricks [...]
The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has today elected to keep UK interest rates on hold at the historically low level of 0.5% for the 13th consecutive month. In addition, it has opted not to inject any more funds into the economy via its quantitative easing (QE) scheme – introduced to stimulate growth [...]
Halifax has reported that house prices rose by 1.1% in March, compared to a month earlier. The increase partly offsets February’s 1.6% fall and takes the average value of a home to £168,521. According to the lender, price rises have been recorded for eight of the past nine months, producing an annual gain of 5.2%. [...]
The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has today elected to keep UK interest rates on hold at the historically low level of 0.5% for the 12th consecutive month. In addition, it has opted not to inject any more funds into the economy via its quantitative easing (QE) scheme – introduced to stimulate growth [...]
UK house prices fell by 1.5% in February when compared to January, according to Halifax. The lender’s monthly index registered its first decline since June 2009, following seven consecutive monthly increases. However, at £166,587, the average price of a UK home came in 8% above the market trough of April 2009, and up 4.5% on [...]
The fixed-rate mortgage has just passed its 21st birthday, having been launched by Halifax in 1988 at an astonishing rate of 12.75%. However, the lender is celebrating the enduring appeal of this type of home loan with the following facts and figures: By 2009, 68% of new mortgage lending took the form of fixed-rate deals, [...]
Research by the Halifax has revealed the growing popularity of Individual Savings Accounts (ISAs). The Halifax, which is now part of the Lloyds Banking Group, said the number of accounts opened in the nine years to March 2009 surged by 53%. At the start of the millennium, there were 9,000 subscribed ISA accounts, but this [...]
Halifax has announced a 0.6% rise in UK house prices in January, compared to a month earlier. The seventh successive monthly increase was more modest than the 1.1% average for the previous six months but nonetheless takes the price of a typical home to £169,777, or 3.6% more than at the start of 2009. The [...]
Halifax has been looking back over the past 50 years to find that the average cost of a UK home has increased by 237% (in real terms) since 1959. The typical yearly rate of return of 2.7% exceeded the average rise in real earnings over the period, although house prices recorded their biggest increase in [...]
In its latest survey of the UK housing market, Halifax reports that in December house prices increased for the sixth consecutive month. The rise took the value of a typical home to £169,042, up 9.4% (£14,552) on the low of April 2009, and 1.1% higher on an annual basis. Taking the three-month-on-three-month measure, prices rose [...]
Banks are increasingly tempting their current account holders with mortgage offers, as they seek to become “one-stop shops” in financial services. Research from financial products analyst, Defaqto, suggests the number of mortgage offers available exclusively to current account customers is on the rise. According to the firm, Abbey offers free valuations and cash back on [...]
Potential first-time buyers on average earnings can now afford to buy a home in nearly four out of 10 regions of the UK, the Halifax has reported. According to the lender’s research, 39% of the UK’s local authority districts are accessible to those wanting to buy their first property, compared to 6% when the housing [...]
Halifax has identified the most expensive addresses in England and Wales, with Wycombe Square in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea topping the league at an average property price of £5,401,447. According to the lender’s research, the Royal Borough provides half of the 20 most expensive residential streets in the survey, while Greater London [...]
New research from Halifax has revealed that the Nation’s children are receiving an average £6.24 a week in pocket money. In 2009, pocket money support for offspring aged between eight and 15 has increased by 11p on a year earlier, despite the recession. However, the average is significantly down on the £8.37 a week handed [...]
UK house prices rose by 1.4% in November compared to a month earlier, according to Halifax. The average cost of a home came in at £167,664, up 4.2% in the first 11 months of 2009. The fifth consecutive monthly increase also eased the annual decline to 1.6%; a significant improvement on April’s low of minus [...]
According to the Halifax, house prices rose 1.2% in October which is the fourth consecutive month that prices have gained. The lender said house prices are 4.7% lower when compared with October last year and the average price of a house is now £165,528. In comparison, last week, the Nationwide said house prices were up [...]
More than 400 jobs could be lost after Lloyds Banking Group has agreed to sell its Halifax estate agency business to LSL Property Services for £1. It is expected that the sale will result in the closure of 121 Halifax banking counters located in estate agents. More than 1,000 employees will be transferred to LSL [...]
The latest property index from Halifax shows UK house prices increasing by 1.6% in September, easing the annual rate of fall to 7.4%. Last month, the typical UK home cost £163,533, a figure similar to that recorded in mid-2005. The lender says the value of the average property rose for the third consecutive month and [...]
The Halifax house price index shows the value of the average UK home increasing by 0.8% in August compared with July, to £160,973. According to the lender, prices have now improved for the second consecutive month and for four of the first eight months of 2009. The change eases the annual rate of decline to [...]
Four in five Brits are putting money aside for a holiday despite the recession, research by Halifax discovered. The poll found 84% of UK adults are maintaining a holiday savings habit, almost double the 44% who said they were saving towards holidays in pre-recession studies. Nearly three quarters (72%) of Brits said they’d funded or [...]
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 [...]
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