The cost of moving house is 69 per cent higher than it was in 2001, according to Lloyds TSB, with estate agency fees, mortgage fees and stamp duty responsible for most of the increase. A typical house move cost nearly £9,000 in 2011, £3,632 more than it did a decade ago. Some regions have experienced [...]
HSBC has announced plans to lend more than £15 billion in mortgages this year, with £3m of this ring-fenced for first-time buyers. This should provide mortgages for up to 150,000 home buyers during 2012, including 27,000 people buying their first home. The sum amounts to 11 per cent of all the mortgage borrowing predicted for [...]
In a move that could cause sales of first-time buyer properties to rise sharply early next year, the current exemption on stamp duty will not be extended as hoped. In his Autumn Statement yesterday, the Chancellor said that this concession has proved ineffective in increasing the number of first time buyers entering the market, therefore [...]
The latest house price figures from Nationwide Building Society contradict yesterday’s news from the Land Registry that house prices have fallen over the past year. Nationwide today said that house prices are ‘surprisingly resilient’ with November’s figures showing a year-on-year increase of 1.6%. In contrast the latest Land Registry figures showed a 3.2 per cent [...]
The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has today reported mortgage lending remained weak in December. However, the month is traditionally a quiet one as prospective buyers opt to wait until the New Year to purchase a home. The number of loans approved for those buying a new home stood at 39,000 during the month – [...]
The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has today reported mortgage lending remained weak in December. Mortgage lending fell by 6% in December compared with November, said the Council. According to the CML, mortgage lending totalled £11 billion – this was 18% lower compared with December 2009 – when buyers were rushing to beat the end [...]
The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) is predicting that the housing market will remain subdued in 2011, due to uncertainty surrounding the economy and the ongoing mortgage rationing by lenders. Over recent times, demand has been weak as many buyers have adopted a “wait and see” approach as uncertainty continues to surround the economy and [...]
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has suggested the UK property market could experience a double dip. In its latest World Economic Outlook, the IMF highlighted that despite Government efforts to boost the housing market and encourage first-time buyers, UK house prices could still be in line for “further correction”. The IMF was referring to the [...]
UK house sales rose in February, according to HM Revenue & Customs. The month saw 58,000 transactions completed on properties worth over £40,000, up 14% from January. The total fell well below December’s tally of 103,000, when sales activity clustered as the end of the stamp duty holiday loomed, but showed a significant improvement on [...]
The Pre-Election Budget has been delivered today by Chancellor Alistair Darling with items such as stamp duty changes confirmed. The Chancellor said stamp duty will be abolished on house purchases up to £250,000. The change, which will apply this year and next year, means 90% of first-time buyers will not pay the duty. Furthermore, Mr [...]
The Pre-Election Budget will be delivered today by Chancellor Alistair Darling but he has repeatedly said there will be no “giveaways” ahead of the general election. What we can expect to see, though, are more details of how the Government expects to trim the budget deficit. Mr Darling has previously pledged to halve the budget [...]
Banks would be encouraged to lend more easily to home buyers if stamp duty was changed to work like income tax, a mortgage expert has claimed. Catherine Hearnden, director of MyMortgageDirect, said stamp duty should be calculated relative to the house being purchased. “I think it should work like income tax, where it is staggered [...]
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 [...]
Latest figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) show that in September, one third of first-time buyers benefited from the current stamp duty holiday. There were 6,200 first-time buyer loans for properties priced between the old starting rate of £125,000 and the temporary threshold of £175,000, representing 32% of 19,700 first-time buyer loans approved. [...]
With the stamp duty holiday for purchasers of properties worth up to £175,000 coming to an end in December, Halifax has calculated that 31% of homebuyers in England and Wales have benefited from the concession. In September of last year the Government raised the threshold at which 1% stamp duty is paid from £125,000 to [...]
Entrepreneur, James Caan, has launched an attempt to kick-start the UK property market in conjunction with property portal, Look4AProperty.com. Look4AProperty Money is offering interest-free loans to cover costs such as stamp duty and legal fees, with access to the scheme through a UK-wide network of selected estate agents. According to Mr Caan, who is best [...]
Homebuyers are being reminded that time is slipping away for the stamp duty holiday on properties worth up to £175,000. The levy was suspended in September of last year when the Government raised the threshold at which 1% stamp duty is paid from £125,000 to £175,000, creating an opportunity for homebuyers to save up to [...]
Latest figures from HM Revenue and Customs show completed housing transactions rising to 60,000 in March, up from 43,000 in February. News of the 40% increase adds to other recent evidence that the UK housing market is on the road to recovery and while house sales traditionally rise in March, when the figures are seasonally [...]
Housebuilder Barratt Developments has announced a range of sales incentives. The company’s pre-tax profit fell by 68% in the six months to the end of June as unsold stock languished on its books. In an effort to tackle the lack of confidence in the property market that is keeping its showroom carpets pristine, the builder [...]
The Government has announced that stamp duty is to be suspended on homes sold for below £175,000. The move, which raises the threshold at which 1% stamp duty is paid from £125,000, could save homebuyers up to £1,750. The concession comes alongside measures to help first-time buyers and homeowners struggling with mortgage repayments, unveiled earlier [...]
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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