In a round-up of January mortgage lending, Bank of England figures show approvals for house purchases falling 17%, compared to a month earlier. However, the month-on-month decline takes into account the end of the stamp duty holiday, which resulted in transactions being pushed through in time for December completions, and winter weather conditions that would [...]
Gross mortgage lending plummeted in January, adversely affected by the end of the stamp duty holiday. The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) puts the gross figure at £9.1 billion, down 32% from £13.4 billion in December and 21% year-on-year. While a decline is typically experienced between December and January, advances were at their lowest since [...]
First-time buyer mortgage approvals hit a two-year high in December as those buying properties costing up to £175,000 rushed their purchases through before the end of the stamp duty holiday. According to the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML), 24,900 first-time buyer loans were sanctioned worth £2.9 billion, leaving both figures up 26% on November. In [...]
First-time buyers were in short supply during November, according to the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA). Figures from the body show only 19% of house sales involved those getting a foot on the property ladder, a substantial drop from a May peak of 45%. The proportion is also at its lowest since December 2008, [...]
The Chancellor of the Exchequer has chosen not to extend the stamp duty holiday, which comes to an end on 31st December, despite hopes that the UK’s housing market would be buoyed by a further concession on the tax. From 1st January, the duty becomes payable at 1% on properties worth between £125,000 and £175,000, [...]
As commentators on the UK property market mull over the impact of the end of the stamp duty holiday, Zoopla.co.uk is claiming that far fewer home buyers have benefited from the concession than the Government intended. The threshold on the duty was raised from £125,000 to £175,000 in September 2008 and is due to revert [...]
The National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) is calling on the Government to extend the stamp duty holiday on properties worth up to £175,000. The threshold at which one per cent stamp duty is paid was raised from £125,000 to £175,000 in September of last year, creating an opportunity for homebuyers to save up to [...]
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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