The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) expects the number of house repossessions to increase by 21.6 per cent from 37,000 this year to 45,000 in 2012 due to an increase in unemployment and falling household incomes. The CML also expects housing transactions to fall next year, with 825,000 homes expected to be sold compared with [...]
David Cameron has announced a new housing strategy designed to get “Britain building again” but Labour claims that the promise of £400m to kickstart stalled developments is ‘small beer’. From July next year, the “Get Britain Building Fund” is expected to support the building of 16,000 new homes for which planning permission has already been [...]
The number of mortgages approved for house purchases remained all but static in May, compared with April, at 49,815, according to Bank of England data. The figure was down on the previous six month average and well behind the November 2009 peak of 59,338. The result has disappointed analysts who were hoping to see a [...]
Home buyers with a zero to 40% deposit currently have 1,798 mortgage deals to choose from, according to Moneyfacts.co.uk. Researchers at the financial website have registered a 6% rise in the number of home loans on offer in the past month, taking the total up 68% year-on-year. While those with 5% or less to put [...]
Lenders are backing the proposed regulation of the second-charge mortgage market. Responding to a Treasury consultation, the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has also said it wants to ensure borrowers are sufficiently protected when mortgage books are sold on. On second-charge lending, the body has restated its longstanding position that all residential mortgage lending should [...]
Santander has launched new two year tracker and fixed rate mortgage products, and has reduced the rate on its five year fixed rate mortgage. The two year mortgages are available to both first time buyers and home-owners at up to 70% loan-to-value (LTV) Interest on the fixed-rate mortgage is 3.44%, while interest on the tracker [...]
UK lenders sanctioned an additional £1.2 billion in mortgages in December 2009, according to Bank of England statistics. The figure fell below the revised November total of £1.6 billion, but remained above the previous six-month average of £0.9 billion. The annual rate of growth slipped to 0.9% (1% in November) but the three-month-on-three month measure [...]
Endowment mortgage holders with Aviva (now incorporating Norwich Union) are at risk of not being able to pay off their mortgages when policies mature. In publishing its 2010 bonus rates, the company has let it be known that nine out of 10 of its mortgage endowment policies are expected to fall short of projections. In [...]
Despite a dip in mortgage lending during the third quarter of 2009, banks and building societies expect the availability of mortgages to improve in the months ahead. According to the Bank of England’s latest Trends in Lending report, a net balance of lenders expect mortgage availability to rise “somewhat” during the final quarter of the [...]
An organisation set up to represent property owners and investors, is calling for the regulation of buy-to-let mortgages. In a new report entitled “Responsible Regulation”, the British Property Federation (BPF) says such a move would lessen the risk of another “black hole of irresponsible lending” occurring in the future. According to the BPF, the Financial [...]
Nationwide has cut rates on a range of its mortgages and is offering a two-year fixed-rate deal at 3.88% for home movers, at a maximum loan-to-value ratio (LTV) of 70%. A two-year tracker is available from 2.94% (up to 70% LTV), and for a three-year tracker, rates start at 3.14% for (up to 75% LTV). [...]
The lack of mortgages available to first time buyers is bumping up rents as would-be homeowners struggle to get a foot on the housing ladder, an industry expert claimed. Nicholas Leeming, director of propertyfinder.com, said the credit crunch is good news for landlords because it will inflate their income. “Rent levels have been recovering in [...]
Leeds Building Society unveiled two new mortgage products this week. The new products include a two-year base rate tracker (BRT) mortgage, and a two-year fixed-rate mortgage. The BRT mortgage is available to homeowners borrowing up to 75% of the value of their property, with interest charged at 2.7% above the Bank of England’s base rate. [...]
Lenders continue to offer mortgages at an “obscene” rate of interest despite the cost of interbank borrowing falling to a record low. Paul Holmes, chief executive of first-time buyer advice site Firstrung, said lenders have “no excuse” for the rates they are charging. Banks and building societies are simply using record low interest rates to [...]
Consumers have seen very little benefit from the Bank of England holding its base rate at a record low of 0.5% for six months, a consumer advice site pointed out this week. Interest rates on savings accounts have dropped, while rates on mortgages, credit cards, and personal loans have continued to rise, said Moneyfacts.co.uk. Research [...]
Mortgage borrowers are becoming less fearful of interest rate rises and opting for variable rate loans in larger numbers. July figures from John Charcol show that while fixed-rate deals retained their popularity, variable-rate mortgages, such as tracker or discounted loans, made up 35% of all mortgages arranged through the broker, compared to 17% of the [...]
Borrowers seeking fixed and tracker rate mortgages are in for a pleasant surprise because arrangement fees have fallen by around 25% in the past 12 months. Research by moneysupermarket.com has revealed that the average two year fixed-rate deal now comes with a typical fee of £957, down 30% the £1,243 average charge this time last [...]
Bank of China has relaunched its mortgage offering to UK customers, having previously focused on the British Chinese community. The world’s third-largest bank says it can provide “straightforward and very easy to understand” variable-rate loans to first-time buyers, home movers and customers who want to re-mortgage. Buy-to-let investors are also being targeted by the bank, [...]
In a further reshaping of the UK mortgage market, the maximum length of a fixed-rate deal is down to 15 years, following Manchester Building Society’s withdrawal its 30-year fix. Prior to the credit crisis, the Government was proposing to help lenders offer more affordable long-term fixed-rate products, which at the time were common in the [...]
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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