News Tag: homeowners
March 4, 2010
Reporting on its recent "Future Housing" conference the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) says it expects the UK to see a smaller proportion of homeowners and a higher proportion of tenants, mostly in the private sector, in the years ahead.
Changing consumer preferences and affordability pressures will drive the trend.
Examining the plight of first-time buyers, the CML’s head of research, Bob ...
Homeowners to be replaced by tenants
by Gill Montia
November 13, 2009
Homeowners get the itch to move house every seven years, new research has discovered.
Co-operative Bank found the main reason people move house is to make room for a growing family.
Other popular reasons homeowners cited for moving included wanting to live closer to work, and getting bored of their current home.
One in six (14%) said the prospect of taking on new DIY projects ...
Homeowners suffer from seven-year itch
by David Masters
October 14, 2009
The latest Equity Release Market Monitor from Key Retirement Solutions (KRS) has revealed a rise in equity release take-up in the July to September period.
Equity release sales were up 19% during the period compared to the April to June period, said KRS.
Equity release allows homeowners to release cash from the value of their property - the trend became very popular ...
Equity release sales up 19% in Q3
by Kay Murchie
October 13, 2009
A survey by online property website Zoopla.co.uk has found that more than three-quarters (79%) of homeowners believe home values will rise in the next six months, while only 11% are expecting house prices to fall over the same period.
In its quarterly survey of housing market sentiment, Zoopla found that overall, the 6,682 homeowners surveyed predicted average house values in their area ...
Zoopla survey reveals housing market optimism
by Kay Murchie
September 26, 2009
Homeowners renting a room to a lodger should inform their home insurance provider, the Association of British Insurers (ABI) said this week.
According to the ABI, homeowners who don't inform their insurance provider about taking on a lodger risk invalidating their policy.
"If you are applying for insurance and you are taking a lodger, or if you have got a lodger, you should disclose that ...
ABI issues lodger warning
by David Masters
September 18, 2009
Homeowners are flocking to HSBC in droves following the launch of the bank's 1.99% fixed-rate mortgage.
Traffic on HSBC's mortgage website has doubled since the mortgage was announced, while calls to HSBC call centres have increased 78%.
"Since announcing the 1.99% deal we have seen a huge amount of interest from customers," said Martijn van der Heijden, HSBC head of mortgages.
Van der Heijden was ...
Homeowners flock to 1.99% mortgage
by David Masters
August 24, 2009
Homeowners on tracker mortgages will be "hit like a rock" when interests rates rise, a financial expert warned this week.
David Kuo, director of the Motley Fool financial news website, Fool.co.uk, said "prudent" customers should continue making monthly repayments at the same level as they were before interest rates plummeted.
By maintaining repayment levels mortgage holders will be reducing their debts ...
Rate rise will hit homeowners “like a rock”
by David Masters
August 21, 2009
Many homeowners are opting for peace of mind over cheaper monthly repayments, an industry expert noted this week.
Jacqueline Thornton, financial planner at Re-Financial Planning, said most homeowners are choosing fixed-rate mortgages rather than saving money by moving to a lower-cost standard variable rate (SVR) deal.
Mortgage broker John Charcol recently reported 83% of its clients opted for a fixed-rate mortgage ...
Homeowners seek peace of mind in fixed-rate mortgages
by David Masters
August 14, 2009
The number of homeowners letting out a room to a lodger has almost tripled in the last year, research from Abbey Mortgages has discovered.
Nearly one million UK households now include a lodger as homeowners seek to increase their income during the recession.
UK homeowners could potentially earn over £6 billion by letting out unused rooms, Abbey said.
London is the most popular location ...
More homeowners offer room to lodgers
by David Masters
August 4, 2009
Homeowners with a mortgage have seen their spending power rise by more than one tenth in the past year, Halifax revealed this week.
Mortgage holders now have more money left over after buying the essentials than they have done for years.
Since March 2008, the average household with a mortgage has seen their discretionary income increase 11% from £892 to £989, Halifax ...
Mortgage holders have 11% more spare cash
by David Masters
April 22, 2009
In today’s Budget, Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling said the country is suffering as the economy is in the midst of its worst year since World War II.
In an attempt to drive the UK to recovery, the Chancellor unveiled a series of measures including tax rises and spending cuts.
Those earning in excess of £150,000 face a top tax rate of ...
Darling announces tax rises in Budget
by Kay Murchie
February 27, 2009
Research involving 60,000 UK homeowners has led to claims that almost four million households are already in, or close to, negative equity.
In terms of UK mortgage holders, the figure equates to one in three, which is double the number seen during the housing market downturn of the 1990s.
Research firm, GfK NOP, found that homeowners aged between 25 and 34 who have ...
Negative equity haunts four million homeowners
by Gill Montia
February 10, 2009
It may seem a lifetime ago that politicians were advocating the 25-year fixed-rate mortgage but it was only in July of 2007 that Prime Minister Gordon Brown put forward a plan to provide more long-term fixed-rate loans as a means of controlling soaring house prices.
Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling reinforced the value of such loans two years ago but those ...
Homeowners stuck with high 25-year fixed-rates
by Gill Montia
January 5, 2009
The Government is improving the help available for homeowners facing mortgage arrears, and ultimately repossession, because they have lost their jobs.
Changes to Support for Mortgage Interest (SMI) were outlined last year and due to take effect from April 2009 but the worsening of the credit crisis and rising unemployment have prompted ministers to bring forward the new measures.
From today, the means-tested ...
New help for jobless homeowners
by Gill Montia
November 17, 2008
According to a report by property search website, Rightmove, homeowners are slashing their asking prices by £6,500 in a bid to sell their home.
In the four weeks to November 8, the average asking price of a home in England and Wales was £223,000 - a 2.9% decrease on the previous month and the largest fall since the ...
Asking prices slashed by £6,500 but homes still not selling
by Kay Murchie
July 11, 2008
Yesterday's decision by the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee to keep the base rate on hold at 5%, will have disappointed homeowners struggling with increased mortgage repayments, rising living costs and falling house prices.
News that the rate would remain unchanged in July followed a report earlier this week from financial website Moneyfacts.co.uk asserting that the cost of ...
Homeowners struggle on as base rate held at 5%
by Gill Montia
June 12, 2008
House sales may have ground to a halt, with the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors reporting that transactions are at a thirty-year low, but canny homeowners are nevertheless planning to take advantage of the market.
Research from Abbey Mortgages indicates that over two million homeowners see falling property prices as an opportunity to increase their assets in the long-term.
According to the ...
Falling house prices - disaster or opportunity?
by Gill Montia
June 11, 2008
Bank of England governor, Mervyn King, has warned that the UK needs to improve its system of financial stability to ensure that innocent people do not lose their homes.
Speaking to members of the British Bankers' Association, the governor stated that the credit crisis and a period of prolonged turmoil on the financial markets had led to rising inflation and ...
Bank of England Governor looks out for homeowners
by Gill Montia
June 2, 2008
According to broker, My Mortgage Direct, in an effort to save cash, homeowners are ditching life cover.
The broker warns that just 20% of new borrowers are opting for life cover to protect their mortgage.
The organisation emphasises the importance of life cover and said borrowers are looking for ways to claw back cash on what they regard ...
New homeowners at risk by opting out of life insurance
by Kay Murchie
