Mortgage lending fell by 30 per cent in April, with just 36,000 home loans approved, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML). The fall followed the end of the stamp duty concession for first-time buyers, and loans to this group fell by nearly a half, to 12,600 in April. Many first-time buyers rushed to [...]
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 [...]
Mortgages are more expensive for one million homeowners after the Halifax, the Co-operative Bank, Clydesdale Bank and Yorkshire Bank all increased their standard variable rate (SVR) yesterday. Many mortgages revert to the SVR when a fixed-rate deal comes to the end of its term. Lenders are increasing their SVRs due to the higher cost of [...]
October was a difficult month for first-time buyers according to the latest figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML). Ten per cent fewer home loans were offered to first-time buyers compared with September and the average deposit they had to find was a hefty 20 per cent. In the current economic climate and with [...]
The CBI is calling for a radical rethink in the way house purchases are funded including allowing buyers to dip into their pension pot for the deposit on their first home. The number of first-time buyers fell from a high of 167,400 in 2001 to 36,200 in 2011 with unaffordable deposits and financial insecurity making [...]
The Co-operative Banking Group has announced that rates on its five-year fixed rate mortgages are being reduced by up to 0.90 per cent. The group is also withdrawing the £999 arrangement fee on its five-year products available exclusively to current account customers. Following the changes the group offers five-year fixed rates mortgages with rates ranging [...]
Figures from the Bank of England today have revealed credit card write-offs continue to rise. During the first three months of 2010, write-offs rose to £1.25 billion – the second highest quarterly amount on record. The situation has deteriorated in the recession as thousands of people have been unable to afford their repayments, due to [...]
Savers are finding it increasingly difficult to get a good return on their money, and many are opting to pay off debt rather than keep their savings in a bank account, Moneynet.co.uk has claimed. Andrew Hagger, spokesperson for the price comparison site, said at least a dozen best-buy savings deals have disappeared from the market [...]
The Post Office has launched a new range of mortgages targeted at first time buyers. Consumers can take out the new mortgage products with a deposit of just 10%. The two-year, three-year, and five-year fixed rate mortgages have interest rates between 5.45% and 5.99%. A tracker mortgage is also available at 5.49%. Marco Hughes, director [...]
Millions of homeowners across the UK have no idea what interest rate they’re paying on their mortgage, according to research by Post Office Mortgages, A poll by the lender found that while 35% of borrowers are currently on a standard variable rate (SVR) mortgage, 28% – around 3 million homeowners – don’t know what rate [...]
Low interest rates throughout 2009 have helped some people put more money aside into savings, a financial expert has claimed. Darren Cook, spokesperson for Moneyfacts.co.uk, said low interest rates have decreased mortgage payments for homeowners, increasing their disposable income, which can be used for savings. “If you look at people that had existing mortgages before [...]
First time buyers are being further squeezed out of the mortgage market with one of the UK’s biggest lenders pulling its 10% deposit products. Britannia, which merged with Co-operative Bank earlier this year, said it will no longer offer mortgages to borrowers with a 10% deposit. The news further diminishes the tiny number of lenders [...]
A Bank of England report has revealed that Britain’s banks and building societies are set to make more loans available to homeowners and businesses over the next quarter. The report also revealed that despite the tightening of lending criteria over recent times, credit availability to larger companies actually increased during the first three months of [...]
According to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics), the number of homes changing hands has fallen to levels not experienced since their survey started in 1978. The organisation said the average number of property sales handled by surveyors across the country over the last three months plummeted to just 14.4 – the equivalent of [...]
Figures from Moneyfacts.co.uk have revealed that there are now 71% fewer mortgages available compared with this time last year. There are now 3,748 mortgage deals available compared with 13,027 mortgage products last August, according to Moneyfacts, showing what an impact the credit crunch has had on the housing market. Furthermore, the number of loans has [...]
Prime Minister Gordon Brown is to meet bank chiefs for breakfast talks tomorrow at Number 10 to discuss the current housing market crisis. Last week, The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) cut interest rates from 5.25% to 5%. This is the third time since December that interest rates have been cut in an [...]
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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