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 [...]
Housing developer, Persimmon, has reported a 30% fall in sales of new homes in the six months to the end of June. The company sold 5,501 new homes during the period, down from 8,002 in the first half of 2007. Blaming the UK’s shrinking mortgage market for plummeting sales, Persimmon has also revealed that the [...]
According to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics), the number of homes changing hands has fallen to levels not experienced since their survey started in 1978. The organisation said the average number of property sales handled by surveyors across the country over the last three months plummeted to just 14.4 – the equivalent of [...]
Figures from Moneyfacts.co.uk have revealed that there are now 71% fewer mortgages available compared with this time last year. There are now 3,748 mortgage deals available compared with 13,027 mortgage products last August, according to Moneyfacts, showing what an impact the credit crunch has had on the housing market. Furthermore, the number of loans has [...]
Chancellor of the Exchequer, Alistair Darling, has been heavily criticised by opposition MPs, housebuilders, estate agents and others, for comments made earlier this week about stamp duty. Speaking on Radio 4’s Today programme on Tuesday, Mr Darling said a suspension of the tax would be included among a range of measures he is considering to [...]
A long-awaited and much petitioned for concession on stamp duty could be in the offing. Speaking on Radio 4′s Today programme, Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling has said that he will include a possible suspension of the tax among a range of measures he is considering to kick-start the UK’s housing market. However, firm [...]
HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has been adding up its stamp duty receipts and has concluded that the number of house sales in the UK fell by 13% in May, compared with April. The month’s sales totalled around 100,000 while in April, the figure stood at 115,000. Transactions were 37% down on May of 2007 [...]
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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