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 [...]
The Rics European Housing Review 2010 has revealed a mixed bag for European house prices. The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) found that only five countries reported growth in house prices – with the UK being one of them – rising by 1% in 2009. Norway led the way with a 12% gain during [...]
Enquiries from new home buyers dipped in January, for the first time in 14 months. According to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), the winter freeze may have been responsible for the downturn with house sellers also affected and the number of homes being put up for sale falling for the first time in [...]
UK house prices rose at a slower pace in December, as the gap between supply and demand narrowed. A new survey from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) reveals that 30% more Chartered Surveyors reported a rise, rather than a fall, compared with 35% reporting a rise in November. However, a significant majority of [...]
New figures from HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) show the number of homes sold in the UK falling to 87,000 in November, compared with 90,000 in October. However, last month’s total for properties worth £40,000 and above is the second-highest so far in 2009, and the dip still leaves completed transactions at over twice the [...]
In its November 2009 Housing Market Survey, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) reports that prices continue to rise, despite a modest increase in the number of properties coming up for sale. According to the research, a net balance of 35% of chartered surveyors agreed that prices were increasing, up from 34% in October. [...]
With the stamp duty holiday due to end on 31st December, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) is warning that a return to the previous structure of the tax could have a detrimental affect on the UK’s fragile property market. According to the body, regions that are already lagging behind in the recovery will [...]
In its latest survey of the housing market, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) concludes that UK house prices will continue to rise in the near term. The balance of surveyors reporting rises rather than falls in house prices stood at a positive 34% in October 2009, up from 20% a month earlier and [...]
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 [...]
A survey by online property website Zoopla.co.uk has found that more than three-quarters (79%) of homeowners believe home values will rise in the next six months, while only 11% are expecting house prices to fall over the same period. In its quarterly survey of housing market sentiment, Zoopla found that overall, the 6,682 homeowners surveyed [...]
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) has discovered that a lack of homes up for sale has resulted in the strongest rise in house prices since the start of the credit crunch. According to Rics, its headline house price balance has grown to its highest level since the autumn 2007. It said that almost [...]
In its August 2009 survey, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) reports that for the first time in over two years, a net balance of chartered surveyors saw rises, rather than falls, in house prices. The net proportion of RICS members reporting price rises actually stood at 10.7%, the highest result since May 2007 [...]
The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has today revealed that the number of mortgages approved for house purchase soared 23% in June, compared with May. The rise is the fifth consecutive monthly increase and represents the highest level for a year. According to the CML, 45,000 home loans were granted during the month – just [...]
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) believes that house prices will rise over the next few months due to a shortage of homes for sale. According to Rics, part of the renewed optimism within the housing market comes as a result of demand from new buyers outstripping supply. The organisation said just 8% more [...]
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) has followed Halifax and Nationwide in reporting a positive outlook for the UK’s beleaguered housing market. Following a “considerable shift” in sentiment, the Rics has abandoned its forecast of price falls of between 10% and 15% for 2009 and is predicting that prices could show a rise over [...]
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) has reported a positive change in house price expectations for the first time since May 2007. In its June survey of members, the net balance of surveyors reporting falling rather than rising prices improved from -43.8 in May to –18.1. The Institution points out that although the balance [...]
New research from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) shows that house sellers are now achieving a higher proportion of asking prices. A survey of Rics members has revealed that the gap between selling and asking prices has narrowed to 11% in the past three months, whereas in August of last year the discrepancy [...]
Figures released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) have revealed that the number of people out of work in the UK has reached 2.2 million. This takes the unemployment rate up to 7.1% from 6.7% – the highest rate since 1991. In the meantime, unemployment benefit claimants in April climbed by a further 57,000 [...]
The latest survey from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) describes the mindset of its members as “universally optimistic” over sales. New buyer inquiries across England and Wales increased for the sixth consecutive month in April; around 41% more surveyors reported a rise rather than a fall, pushing the ratio up from 32% more [...]
Phone fraudsters stealing bank card pins
Fraudsters using a phone scam to trick bank card holders into revealing their pin numbers stole £750,000 in the first four months of this year. This is the same amount stolen through this scam in the whole of last year. The fraudster telephones a bank customer, often someone elderly or vulnerable, telling them that their [...]
FSA rules out ban on interest-only mortgages
Speculation that the Financial Services Authority would ban interest-only mortgages as part of its Mortgage Market Review has proved to be unfounded. However, lenders will be required to monitor the performance of the investment product taken out by the customer to repay the mortgage at the end of its term. Investments are performing poorly because [...]
Bank of England may end free in-credit banking
A director of the Bank of England has warned that official intervention could be considered to end the ‘dangerous myth of free in-credit banking’. Andrew Bailey has already spoken out against free banking in relation to the mis-selling of financial products. In a speech made available to media, he reiterated his concern, saying that it [...]
Bank of England votes against more economic stimulus
The Bank of England voted against a further round of quantitative easing, at its latest Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting. Just one member, David Miles, voted for further asset purchase to encourage growth in the UK economy, while the other eight members voted to keep the Bank’s quantitative easing programme steady at £325bn. The minutes [...]
Catalogue debt growing says helpline
Calls from people concerned about their debts with mail order catalogues accounted for more than 12 per cent of all calls received by National Debtline last year, compared with just 8 per cent in 2007. More people were concerned about catalogue debt than about payday loans, mortgage or rent, according to the Money Advice Trust [...]
Homeserve faces mis-selling investigation
HomeServe, which provides emergency insurance cover and domestic repairs to households in the UK, is to be investigated by the Financial Services Authority (FSA). Issues over the possible mis-selling of household emergency policies were uncovered last October during an internal review at the Walsall-based company. Homeserve’s call centre staff were found to be selling ‘Complete [...]
OFT warns Wonga over debt collection methods
Payday loan company Wonga used aggressive and misleading methods to collect debts from customers, the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has found. Wonga sent letter and emails to certain customers suggesting they had committed fraud and threatening to report them to the police if they did not act in the way Wonga suggested. The company [...]
NS&I re-launches investment account
National Savings & Investments (NS&I) has re-launched its Investment Account at a higher interest rate than it previously offered. The account now offers 0.75 per cent before tax, compared with between 0.2 and 0.3 per cent previously, depending on the account balance. Deposits and withdrawals on the account can no longer be made at Post [...]
Rightmove reports property downsizing trend
Two in five property owners planning to sell in the next year are planning to ‘trade down’, compared with one in four who plan to ‘trade up’. A survey by property website Rightmove found that moving to a smaller home is the main reason for moving in nine out of the ten regions in the [...]
More people failing to save for retirement
The proportion of people with no pension savings has grown from 20 per cent to 22 per cent over the past year, according to Scottish Widows’ latest survey. The pension provider surveyed 5,200 adults in the UK, aged 30 or over, and earning at least £10,000 a year, for its annual review of pensions. Ian [...]
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