52,854 mortgage loans were agreed in principle in November according to the latest figures from the Bank of England, just 68 higher than the previous month. Although mortgage lending in November 2011 was 12% higher than in November 2010, there has been no significant improvement for four months. Mortgage approvals remain at half their 2007 [...]
The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has today reported the number of loans for house purchase rose in August. According to the Council, there were 52,000 loans advanced for house purchase (worth £7.9 billion) in the month – up from 48,700 (£7.2 billion) in July. The Council described today’s figures as “welcome signs of life” [...]
The UK’s High Street banks approved 74,590 mortgages in July, with the figure up from 71,521 in June and ahead of the previous six-month average (69,803). According to the British Bankers’ Association (BBA) house purchase approvals came in at 33,417, activity having gathered pace since June (32,123) and exceeded the previous six-month average (30,695). At [...]
Annual growth in banks’ gross mortgage lending stood at £7.6 billion in June, with the figure 11% lower than a year earlier, according to the British Bankers’ Association (BBA). Early signs of growth in the buy-to-let market were evident but both house purchase and remortgaging approvals continued to be weak, and with repayments still at [...]
The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has reported that the number of loans for house purchase rose in May. According to the Council, there were 41,500 loans worth £5.9 billion advanced for house purchase in the month, up from 40,800 in April. However, the figure remains lower than the 43,800 loans advanced in May 2010. [...]
The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has today reported a rise in remortgaging loans as homeowners anticipated interest rate hikes. According to the CML, there were almost 34,000 remortgage loans advanced in March – 16% higher compared with February and a rise of 17% on an annual basis. Remortgaging has remained subdued during the historically [...]
The British Bankers’ Association (BBA) has today revealed a slight rise in the number of new mortgages approved by the major banks in February. According to the BBA, the number of new mortgages approved in the month stood at 29,923 – marginally better than January’s level of 29,159, albeit lower than economists forecast of 29,350. [...]
The British Bankers’ Association (BBA) has today revealed a further fall in the number of new mortgages approved by the major banks in November. According to the BBA, the number of new mortgages approved in the month fell to 29,991, down from 30,689 in October – representing a 20-month low. Net mortgage lending fell to [...]
New mortgage lending showed a month-on-month fall of 4% in October, with 46,000 loans for house purchases advanced, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML). At £6.7 billion, the value of the advances was down 6% on September and 12% on October 2009, although last year’s figure was bolstered by buyers taking advantage of [...]
In its latest Credit Conditions Survey, the Bank of England has reported that demand for house purchase mortgages fell slightly in the three months to early September. In addition, lending criteria tightened slightly for the second consecutive quarter, with the trend expected to continue over the coming quarter. Some lenders commented that the changes reflected [...]
New data from the Bank of England show the number of loans approved for house purchases falling in August, marking the fourth consecutive monthly drop. Mortgages were secured by 47,372 homemovers and first-time buyers, down from 48,346 in July and below the previous six-month average of 48,619, although it should be noted that August is [...]
Demand for house purchase mortgages continued to be weak in July, the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has reported. In what is traditionally a strong month, there were only 56,000 house purchase loans (worth £8.4 billion), although volumes had increased from 53,000 a year earlier. Remortgaging activity remained flat when compared with June (28,000 loans) [...]
New figures from the Bank of England show total net lending secured on UK dwellings increasing by £0.1 billion in July, although the rise is well below June’s increase of £0.5 billion and the previous six-month average of £0.8 billion. Approvals for house purchase stood at 48,722 with the total broadly in line with a [...]
Despite the doom and gloom surrounding the housing market currently, there is some positive news from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML). According to the CML, 52,000 new loans were granted to home buyers in June – 19% higher than in May and up 14% on June 2009. CML economist Paul Samter points out that [...]
Mortgage borrowers will be pleased to hear that interest rates could be “pinned to the floor” until 2014. The prediction comes in the latest report by respected economic forecaster, Ernst & Young Item Club, which at the same time acknowledges that high energy prices and the VAT rise due in January will keep inflation above [...]
Mortgage borrowers who moved home in May saw their mortgage interest payments accounting for the lowest proportion of income since the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) began collecting data, in 1975. CML members made 27,100 loans to home movers, up 19% on a year earlier, while the proportion of income spent on mortgage interest stood [...]
UK banks and building societies are expecting mortgages to be “less readily available” in the next three months, as the wholesale money markets that lend to the lenders “tighten”. In its latest Credit Conditions Survey covering the three months to early June 2010, the Bank of England also reports that a slim majority of lenders [...]
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 [...]
In May, net mortgage lending by Britain’s High Street banks grew to £2.6 billion, compared with £1.9 billion in April. Annual growth in net lending (gross lending with repayments and redemptions stripped out) stood at 4.3%, unchanged from April, according to the British Bankers’ Association, while May’s gross mortgage lending of £9 billion was in [...]
First-time buyers accounted for only 35% of all house purchase loans in April 2010, the lowest proportion since September 2007. According to the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML), the low market share is linked to the need for substantial deposits. The lenders’ body comments: “Although there has been some increase this year in the 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, [...]
About | Privacy | Disclaimer | Resources | XML Feeds | Press Releases | Directory | Contact us
