HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has today revealed a slight rise in the number of homes sold in February in the UK. According to HMRC, 57,000 homes worth at least £40,000 or more were sold in the month – 4,000 more than January‘s levels. The figures come as the British Bankers’ Association (BBA) revealed a [...]
The number of UK homes changing hands showed a slight increase in August, with the latest Agency Express Property Activity Index showing sales rising by 0.9% compared to July, reversing two previous monthly declines. The annual gain stood at 6.2% but compared to two years ago, August saw sales rocket by 50.7%. Regional hot-spots were [...]
New figures from HM Revenue & Customs show the number of homes sold in the UK rising to 86,000 in June. Completed transactions on properties worth over £40,000 increased by an annual 15%, having leapt 21% on May. The summer bounce also took volumes for the first six months of the year up 21% 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 [...]
Both the number of homes sold in England and Wales and the prices achieved fell during May, according to Acadametrics. The number of properties changing hands declined by an estimated 18% from April, while the value of the average home dipped by 0.2%. On an annual basis, prices in England and Wales were 9.7% higher [...]
It has been announced that the National Lottery operator, Camelot, has been sold to a Canadian teachers’ pension fund in a deal valued at £389 million. The buyer, the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan – simply known as Teachers’ – has stakes in Northumbrian Water and Bristol and Birmingham airports. Teachers‘ beat off strong competition from [...]
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 [...]
The Treasury has announced new measurers aimed at protecting UK mortgage borrowers. The move follows the Government’s analysis of the causes of the financial crisis, as set out in its Reforming Financial Markets paper published earlier this year. Under the proposals, borrowers whose mortgages are sold on to third parties will be protected by Financial [...]
Struggling Japan Airlines (JAL) yesterday saw its shares close at a record low of 87 yen on the Tokyo Stock Exchange after it emerged that Mitsui & Co broking house had sold all its shares in the carrier. A spokesperson for Mitsui & Co said it had sold all of its 11.7 million shares between [...]
New evidence of a revival of the UK property market comes from auctioneers who have seen a rise of almost two-thirds in the proportion of properties attracting successful bids. Countrywide Property Auctions says it sold around 79% of all properties going under the hammer between 28th May and 12th June, compared with 49% during the [...]
Latest figures from HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) show a rise in the number of homes sold in the UK during May. Transactions involving properties worth over £40,000 increased by 7% last month to 62,000 and were at their highest since October 2008. However, they remained significantly below levels seen at the height of the [...]
Washington Mutual (WaMu) has been closed making it the largest failure of a US bank. WaMu’s assets have been sold to banking giant, JPMorgan Chase, for $1.9bn (£1 billion). WaMu was closed by the Federal Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS), and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp (FDIC) has been appointed receiver. $16.7 billion of deposits [...]
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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