Britons are being duped into buying new homes that are too small to live in comfortably, with house builders and estate agents demonstrating a distinct “lack of transparency” over floor space. According to research from the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), thousands of brand new homes are failing to provide the space families need, [...]
The Commerce Department has today revealed a decline in US housing starts for the month of February. According to the Commerce Department, construction of new US homes dived 22.5% on a monthly basis in February to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 479,000 units. This represented the second lowest level since records began in 1959 [...]
The Commerce Department has today revealed a rise in sales of new homes in the US for the month of December. According to the Commerce Department, new single-family home sales rose to a better than expected annual rate of 329,000 units, from a revised 280,000 in November. However, on an annual basis, December sales were [...]
The Government is proposing to tackle the housing shortage by offering councils in England a cash bonus for every new home they allow to be built. Full details of the scheme are awaited from Housing Minister Grant Shapps but according to reports, the New Homes Bonus will match the council tax raised on each new [...]
The Commerce Department has today revealed a rise in sales of new homes in the US for the month of June. However, the rate of sales was the second slowest since records began in 1963. According to the Commerce Department, new single-family home sales rose to an annual rate of 330,000 units from a revised [...]
The Commerce Department has today revealed a fall in sales of new homes in the US for the month of February. According to the Commerce Department, new single-family home sales fell by 2.2% on the month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 308,000 units – the lowest since records commenced in 1963. Meanwhile, the [...]
Buying a home has become a pipe dream for millions of young Britons, the National Housing Federation (NHF) claims. Research by the body, which represents England’s housing associations, suggests that 50% of those wanting to get a foot on the property ladder are preparing for at least a 10-year wait. The YouGov survey commissioned by [...]
The Commerce Department has today revealed a fall in sales of new homes in the US for the month of January – the third consecutive month that sales have fallen. According to the Commerce Department, new single-family home sales dived by 11.2% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 306,000 units – the lowest since [...]
Chairman of the Federal Reserve Ben Bernanke has today said US interest rates will need to stay low in order to keep the economic recovery on track. In a testimony before Congress, Bernanke said there was a “nascent economic recovery” and said long-term recovery will depend on private sector’s demand for goods and services. Bernanke, [...]
According to the Commerce Department, US consumer spending rose 0.5% in November after a 0.6% rise in October. The rise in consumer spending, which makes up for more than two-thirds of overall economic activity in the US, was slightly under analysts expectations of 0.7%. Analysts had expected a higher jump in spending amid the Thanksgiving [...]
Bellway has reported that since its interim results were released at the end of March, there has been no major change in demand for new homes. The Newcastle-based housebuilder says first-time buyers are continuing to “struggle” to raise deposits, making access to the first step on the housing ladder “difficult”. However, conditions vary from region [...]
The UK’s mortgage famine has led Taylor Wimpey to warn of difficult times ahead for the house building group. In a trading update, the company reported that since January, its order book for new homes has declined 26% in value compared with the same period of 2007. In a previous update last month, a 20% [...]
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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