According to the Land Registry, house prices fell by 0.8% in October compared with September, putting the average cost of a home at £165,505 in England and Wales. It must be noted that the Land Registry compiles its data from completed transactions and therefore lags behind other monitors of the housing market but is generally [...]
Official data from the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) today revealed UK house prices fell by 0.8% in September compared with August, with the average UK home costing £211,815. The quarter-on-quarter growth rate, which is a more reliable indicator or near-term price trend, also fell by 0.7%, compared with a rise of 1.6% [...]
In its June Housing Market Survey, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) reports that buyer enquiries fell for only the second time since the latter part of 2008. At the same time, new instructions rose to their highest level for three years, weakening optimism over future house price growth as the average stock on [...]
Agency Express has reported a 13.6% increase in the number of homes put up for sale in May, compared with April, leaving prospective purchasers their best level of choice in over two years. The firm’s managing director, Stephen Watson, comments: “The decision by the new coalition Government to immediately suspend the requirement to have a [...]
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) has reported a rise in stock levels on estate agents’ books, following last month’s abolition of Home Information Packs. In May 21% more RICS members reported a rise, rather than a fall, in new instructions, up from 11% in April. In addition, 22% more chartered surveyors reported a [...]
The Government’s decision to scrap Home Information Packs (HIPs) has resulted in a surge of new instructions. The UK’s biggest estate agency has reported that the number of homes being put up for sale has risen by a third since 20th May, when ministers called time on the packs. According to Countrywide, new instructions are [...]
Home Information Packs (HIPs) will no longer be required for house sellers from tomorrow, 21st May 2010. The costly packs were introduced in 2007 in England and Wales, despite strong opposition from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) and National Association of Estate Agents. A final good-bye to the HIP involves legislative changes and [...]
House sellers increased the average asking price for a home by 2.6%, or £5,898, in the month to the 10th April, to £235,512. New figures from Rightmove.co.uk show this month’s rise taking prices 6% higher than a year earlier, having built on a 0.1% increase in March. However, with over 25,000 properties put up for [...]
House sellers returned to the market last month in numbers not seen since May 2007, just before the roll-out of Home Information Packs began. According to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors’ (RICS) latest survey, the rate of house price rises slowed in March as new instructions outpaced new enquiries for the third consecutive month. [...]
The UK housing market experienced a shift in the balance between supply and demand in February, with new instructions outpacing buyer interest for the second consecutive month. According to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors’ (RICS) latest housing market survey, a net balance of 15% of surveyors reported a rise, rather than a fall, in [...]
In its September survey of the UK housing market, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) describes previous optimism that vendors were starting to return to the market as “a little premature”. A net balance of only 4% of surveyors reported a rise in new instructions, compared to 12% in August, and the average number [...]
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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