Housing Minister Nick Boles suggested on the BBC’s Newsnight programme that more housing should be built on open land. Increasing the amount of developed land by a third to 12 per cent would “solve the housing problem” Mr Boles said. He said that in exchange for building on open land, greenbelt spaces would be defended. […]
While most families think that their first baby will require more financial outlay than subsequent children, new research suggests that the second child may be more expensive because the family may have to move to a larger house. Families with a second baby on the way are paying an average of £60,000 to move to […]
According to figures from the Bank of England, Britons increased their financial stake in their homes by £5.8 billion in the first quarter of 2011 – the smallest injection in a year. The figure was much lower than the £7.1 billion in the October to December period in 2010 – which represented the highest since […]
According to housing intelligence group, Hometrack, house prices in England and Wales fell at their fastest annual pace since October 2009 last month. According to Hometrack, house prices fell by 0.1% on the month and are 3.7% lower on the year. House prices have now fallen for 10 consecutive months, according to the group. Hometrack […]
Prime Minister David Cameron has stood firm over his Government’s plan to cut housing benefits. The opposition claimed the policy was a “complete shambles” but the PM defended the moves and said: “These are difficult changes but I think it is right.” The proposals include ending the “council housing for life”, which means tenants in […]
Approval has been given by the Obama administration to help areas affected by the housing bust, as part of a $1.5 billion programme. According to Treasury sources, plans for Arizona, California, Florida, Michigan and Nevada have received approval. Under the scheme, more than 90,000 homeowners are set to benefit broken down as follows:- California will […]
Official data has today revealed that US consumer prices fell in April by 0.1% on a monthly basis – the first decline in 13 months. The fall was attributed to declines in petrol, housing, car and clothing prices according to the Labor Department. Petrol prices fell by 2.4%, clothing costs fell 0.7%, while food costs […]
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 […]
A “devastating” second-wave of arrears and repossessions is set to hit the UK within the next two years, according to a leading housing charity. Shelter has called on the government and mortgage lenders to prepare for hundreds of thousands of repossessions as rising unemployment takes its toll on homeowners. Figures release this week by the […]
More than on in three city dwellers are thinking about moving to the countryside because of the level of crime in their neighbourhood. In a poll by Halifax Home Insurance, 37% of urbanites said criminal activity has prompted them to think about moving to a more rural location. This is compared to just 8% of […]
First time buyers are paying record deposits as lenders make it even more difficult to take out a mortgage. Figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) show that a typical first time buyer now has to put down a deposit of 24% – the highest percentage since records began in 1974. With the average […]
The latest house price figures from the Nationwide show the average cost of a UK home falling by an annual 15.9%, in December. During the month values took another 2.5% dip, taking the average cost of a property down to £153,048, or £29,000 less than a year earlier. According to the building society’s index, prices […]
The Building Societies Association (BSA) has published the results of its latest Property Tracker survey, which indicate that more people believe that now is a good time to buy a home. Forty-six per cent of those surveyed were, to some extent, positive about making a purchase, compared with 34% in September and 27% in July. […]
Estate agency, Connells, is selling its 17% stake in Rightmove. The decision by the UK’s second-largest residential property agent is a further ill wind for the housing market, particularly as Connells’ 21 million shares in the website are being offered at a discount on the market price. Connells was instrumental in setting up Rightmove eight […]
The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has reported a sharp rise in the number of people losing their homes because they are unable to keep up their mortgage payments. In the three months to the end of June, repossessions of residential properties rose 71% to 11,054. The figure compares with 6,476 during the same three months […]
House sales are at their lowest for 30 years. Latest figures from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) show that in the three months to the end of August estate agents sold an average 14.4 homes, or 1.1 properties per week. The level of transactions is 47% below August 2007 and compares with average […]
The chief executive of HBOS, which owns Halifax, the UK’s largest mortgage lender, has warned that house prices are unlikely to begin a recovery before 2010. According to Andy Hornby, confidence in Britain’s housing market will not return until banks can raise significant sums on the wholesale financial markets. In addition, house price deflation could […]
Housing developer, Persimmon, has reported a 30% fall in sales of new homes in the six months to the end of June. The company sold 5,501 new homes during the period, down from 8,002 in the first half of 2007. Blaming the UK’s shrinking mortgage market for plummeting sales, Persimmon has also revealed that the […]
The Centre for Economic and Business Research (CEBR) is predicting that house prices will begin a rapid recovery at the end of next year, rising by 30% by 2012. Research undertaken for CEBR by Oxford Economics indicates that a shortage of homes will be the main driver behind a return to property price inflation. In […]
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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