House sales in the UK are expected to improve in the next three months, helped by the government’s funding for lending scheme, according to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS). The Funding for Lending scheme, launched by the government and the Bank of England, makes £80bn of lower cost funding available to lenders to […]
Mortgage lending increased by 24 per cent to £12.2 billion in May, after a fall in April, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML). The figure was 13 per cent higher than a year ago. However, when the effect of the end of the stamp duty holiday on first-time buyer properties is excluded, the […]
Although house sales have plummeted in the past five years, most people still hope to own their own home in the future. Eight out of 10 people surveyed by the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) said they hoped to own their own home by 2022, while three quarters said they hoped to achieve this ambition […]
The Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) has recorded a 40 per cent fall in house sales since 2007, and says that the lack of affordable mortgages has been a key factor in the decline. RICs’ agents have reported around 15 sales per surveyor per month, compared with 25 sales per month in 2007 when […]
The number of houses sold in the £1 million to £2 million price bracket fell by 5% to 6,911 in 2011 according to a report from Lloyds TSB based on figures from the Land Registry. The figures represent the first annual fall in million-pound sales since 2009. In contrast, sales of homes priced above £2 […]
Signs are emerging that the UK property market is slowly starting to improve. According to the latest figures from The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), the number of house sales increased in January, helped by first-time buyers rushing to secure a purchase before the end of the stamp duty exemption on homes under £250,000. […]
House sales fell 1 per cent in 2011, with just 869,000 residential properties sold, according to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC). In January 2011, traditionally the weakest month for property transactions, just 45,000 houses were sold. However, the market did improve at the end of the year, with 76,000 sold in December. The property market […]
The housing market is expected to improve strongly in 2013-14, with a 20 per cent increase in transactions, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) said yesterday. An upward trend is expected to start developing in 2012-13, when 1.5 per growth is expected, according to the OBR’s forecasts which accompanied the chancellor’s Autumn Statement. Recent figures […]
The latest house price index from the Nationwide Building Society has revealed prices rose by 0.4% in October on a monthly basis. On an annual basis, house prices are now 0.8% higher than this time last year – representing the first yearly rise in six months – with the average UK home costing £165,650. However, […]
The Bank of England has today revealed mortgage approvals fell in September for the first time in six months. According to the Bank, there were 50,967 loans approved in the month – down 3% on August’s figure. However, September’s figure was broadly in line with forecasts and suggests the UK mortgage market will remain subdued […]
According to the Land Registry, house prices fell by 0.3% in August after a 1.3% rise in July. The latest fall takes the average cost of a home to £162,347 in England and Wales. On an annual basis, meanwhile, the Registry said prices are 2.6% lower. It must be noted that the Land Registry compiles […]
HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has today revealed a fall in the number of homes sold in April in the UK. According to HMRC, 66,000 homes worth at least £40,000 or more were sold in the month – 1,000 less than the previous month and 6,000 lower than in April 2010. Today’s figures, along with […]
The British Bankers’ Association (BBA) has today revealed a slight rise in the number of new mortgages approved by the major banks in February. According to the BBA, the number of new mortgages approved in the month stood at 29,923 – marginally better than January’s level of 29,159, albeit lower than economists forecast of 29,350. […]
The British Bankers’ Association (BBA) has today revealed a further fall in the number of new mortgages approved by the major banks in January. According to the BBA, the number of new mortgages approved in the month stood at 28,932 – marginally better than December’s levels but 29% lower compared with January 2010. The figures […]
The British Bankers’ Association (BBA) has today revealed a further fall in the number of new mortgages approved by the major banks in December. According to the BBA, the number of new mortgages approved in the month fell to 28,726, down from 29,696 in November – representing the lowest figure since January 2009. Net mortgage […]
The National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) has today revealed property transactions slumped to an 8-year low in December. The severe wintry weather and the traditional slow Christmas period led to sales falling to their lowest level since January 2003. According to the Association, the average estate agent branch sold four properties in December 2010. […]
HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has revealed a slump in the number of homes sold in November in the UK. According to HMRC, 77,000 homes worth at least £40,000 or more were sold in the month – down from the 80,000 sold in October and 6,000 less than in November last year. The figures are […]
The British Bankers’ Association (BBA) has today revealed a further fall in the number of new mortgages approved by the major banks in September. Mortgage lending slumped to its lowest level in a decade in September, while mortgage approvals dived to an 18-month low, said the BBA. Net mortgage lending by the major banks totalled […]
Latest figures from HM Revenue & Customs show house sales across the UK falling to 78,000 in September, compared with 82,000 in August. Completed transactions on homes worth over £40,000 fell for the second consecutive month, with the total also down slightly on a year earlier, marking the first annual decline recorded by HMRC in […]
The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has today revealed gross mortgage lending totalled £12 billion in September – the lowest September total since the year 2000. According to the CML, gross mortgage lending fell 1% on the month and was 7% lower than in September 2009. The latest figures highlight the ongoing sluggishness of the […]
Gender directive could slash men’s annuity payouts
The EU Gender Directive, which came into force today, could see men losing up to £10,000 from their annuity payouts, according to research by PricewaterhouseCoopers. Under the new rules insurers are no longer allowed to take gender into account when setting annuity rates and premiums on insurance products. Men previously enjoyed higher annuity rates than […]
Home rental costs down in November
The cost of renting a house in England and Wales fell by 0.4 per cent in November, its first dip since March, according to a survey by LSL Property Services. Average rent was £741m during the month, returning to the level seen in September. However, it was 3.4 per higher than in November last year. […]
Lloyds TSB halts sale of packaged accounts in branches
Lloyds TSB will stop selling packaged account in its branches from 1 January 2013, until its sales procedures are brought into line with those operated by sister bank The Halifax. Lloyds TSB is one of the main providers of packaged accounts in Britain, with around one in three of its customers choosing to pay fees […]
Housing market recovery to continue next year
Recent improvements in the housing market should continue into next year, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) Gross lending is estimated to have increased to £12.9 billion in November, helped by the Funding for Lending scheme which provides banks and building societies with lower-cost funding, which they are then supposed to pass on […]
Newcastle Building Society exits interest-only mortgages
Newcastle Building Society has stopped offering interest-only mortgages to new borrowers, following the lead of the Royal Bank of Scotland, Nationwide, Co-operative bank and Coventry Building Society. The decision will not affect existing Newcastle customers and applications for interest-only mortgages received before 14 December will still be processed. Prior to the credit crunch, interest-only mortgages […]
Less than half of Brits considered creditworthy
Fifty-seven per cent of UK adults are at risk of having an application for credit turned down by a mainstream lender according to a new report. The ‘Mind the Credit Gap‘ report commissioned by aqua credit cards suggests that even people with a good credit rating and earning more than £50,000 could have a credit […]
Monthly incomes £22 lower in 2012
The average monthly income of UK households fell by £22 in real terms compared with last year, according to a survey carried out for the Bank of England (BoE) by NMG Consulting. People on lower incomes have seen their income eroded more than higher earners and households still have high levels of debt the BoE […]
Savers dig deep to fund Christmas
New research from the Halifax suggests that savers are funding their Christmas spending with money set aside for other purposes. Thirty-seven per cent of 2,138 savers surveyed by the bank at the end of November had withdrawn savings in the last three months. The average amount withdrawn was £1,186, more than double the average savings […]
Financial data at risk from unsafe passwords
According to a survey by the Payments Council the problem of having to remember a different password for several accounts means that many internet users are compromising the security of their financial data. Internet users have 22 password-protected accounts on average and many use the same log-in details for more than one account, even though […]
Wonga launches Paylater loans on retailer website
Payday loan company Wonga has launched a new Paylater service on furniture firm Cotswold Company’s website. The service, which allows customers to “buy now, pay later” will be introduced on other retailers’ sites in the near future. Although the Paylater branding is similar to Wonga’s, the Wonga name only appears in the small print. A […]
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