In its June Housing Market Survey, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) reports that buyer enquiries fell for only the second time since the latter part of 2008. At the same time, new instructions rose to their highest level for three years, weakening optimism over future house price growth as the average stock on [...]
The average asking price for a home in the UK increased by 0.3% in June, compared with May, according to Rightmove. However, the sixth consecutive monthly rise left prices falling in real terms, with the Retail Prices Index showing an annual increase of 5.1% in June, compared with a year-on-year rise in asking prices of [...]
The UK property market experienced a seasonal bounce last month, with estate agents reporting more properties for sale alongside a rise in the number of house-hunters. According to the National Association of Estate agents (NAEA), the stock of homes for sale in March was at its highest for six months, and although first-time buyer interest [...]
The US Treasury Department has today announced it is selling its 27% stake in Citigroup this year, in what will be one of the largest stock sales ever. According to the department, around 7.7 billion shares in the bailed-out bank will be sold in stages. The stock is currently worth around $33 billion (£22 billion) [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
Troubled buy-to-let lender, Bradford & Bingley (B&B), confirmed last week that 27.8% of its new shares, which were on offer at 55p each, have been taken up by investors. This left underwriters, Citigroup and UBS, to place the remaining 597 million new shares, worth £328.3 million, by last Friday. However, the underwriters were left holding [...]
The Centre for Economic and Business Research (CEBR) is predicting that house prices will begin a rapid recovery at the end of next year, rising by 30% by 2012. Research undertaken for CEBR by Oxford Economics indicates that a shortage of homes will be the main driver behind a return to property price inflation. In [...]
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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