The Land Registry has published house price data for September, showing the cost of the average home down 2.2% (£5,700) during the month, to £168,814. The decline means that house prices in England and Wales have fallen 8% over the year, although the rate of decline accelerated last month, from 4.6% in August. Wales saw [...]
The Land Registry has published its house price index for August, showing a 4.6% annual fall in the average cost of a home, to £174,439. The monthly decline stood at 1.9%, which compares with a monthly fall of 0.6% in July. The average house price in England and Wales has now returned to the level [...]
Each month the Land Registry publishes data on the UK housing market, with the figures one month behind those of other leading commentators. However, the Land Registry’s tables are based on completed transactions and as such form the most reliable source of data on house prices. The latest figures available show that in July, house [...]
The week has begun with a flurry of news on UK house prices. Housing intelligence firm, Hometrack, has reported a 4.4% drop in prices in July and the National Housing Federation, which represents housing associations in England, is forecasting that a shortage of supply will push prices up 25% by 2013, although the turnaround will [...]
Latest figures from the Land Registry show that house prices in England and Wales remained static during May, compared to the previous month. The data may not be the most recent available on the UK housing market but it is the most accurate because it is based on completed transactions. During the month, the average [...]
The Land Registry may not provide the most recent data on the housing market but the figures it publishes are the most accurate because they are based on completed sales. In April, the annual rate of house price growth fell for the eighth successive month, to 2.7%. The average price of a home in England [...]
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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