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 [...]
New figures from HM Revenue & Customs show house sales rising to 72,000 in March, with the total increasing by 13,000 (22%) on February, the BBC has reported. With January’s end to the stamp duty holiday still making its mark, March sales were still dwarfed by the 103,000 completions in December. However, compared with a [...]
UK house prices rose by 0.7% in March, compared with a month earlier, according to Nationwide. The increase almost reverses the 0.8% month-on-month fall recorded in February and takes the average cost of a home to £164,519, or 9% more than a year ago. However, the three-month-on-three-month rate of inflation edged down to 1.6% in [...]
UK house sales rose in February, according to HM Revenue & Customs. The month saw 58,000 transactions completed on properties worth over £40,000, up 14% from January. The total fell well below December’s tally of 103,000, when sales activity clustered as the end of the stamp duty holiday loomed, but showed a significant improvement on [...]
Agency Express has reported a surge in house sales between January and February, with three regions reporting their highest monthly sales since the market peak in 2007. According to the firm, which claims to be the UK’s largest “For Sale” board management contractor, every region except Central England saw substantial month-on-month increases, with star performers [...]
Property Portfolio Rescue (PPR) has published its latest UK distress index, showing a surge in the number of distressed home sellers in major cities in the Midlands and the North. In the three months to the end of September, the index rose by 60% in these regions, compared with the same period of 2008. According [...]
Figures from HM Revenue & Customs show UK house sales falling back slightly in August, with volumes registering their first decline for a year. Transactions for properties worth over £40,000 stood at 83,000 for the month, compared with 87,000 in July. However, the August figure was 19% up on a year earlier and more than [...]
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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