The housing market in England and Wales is “in broad equilibrium” despite prices continuing to edge lower, according to Hometrack, which recorded a 0.1% fall in the value of the typical dwelling in July, compared with June. However, there are wide regional variations: prices moved higher across 8% of postcodes (primarily in London) and were [...]
Figures published today by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) revealed a sharp fall in UK car production for the month of April, disrupted by supply shortages, resulting from the Japanese earthquake and tsunami. Japan’s three major carmakers (Toyota, Nissan and Honda) all have operations in the UK, with the latter halving its [...]
House prices in England and Wales were unchanged in April, with no price fall recorded for the first time in nine months, according to Hometrack. A 0.3% rise in London prices offset small falls of up to -0.3% across other regions, with just under a quarter of the country showing falls. The housing intelligence firm [...]
The Halifax has today revealed UK house prices fell by 0.9% last month compared with January, when prices rose 0.8%. The latest house price rise takes the average cost of a UK home to £162,657, the Halifax said. Meanwhile, in the three months to February, prices dropped 2.8% on an annual basis – the fastest [...]
Hometrack’s August housing market survey shows buyer interest in England and Wales falling away for the second consecutive month. Demand from new buyers declined by 2.2% on July, while the number of properties on the market rose by 2.4%. The shift cannot be blamed entirely on seasonal factor, with the typical rise in new properties [...]
Tens of thousands of homeowners who bought during the housing boom face another four years of being trapped in negative equity. According to a new forecast from the National Housing Federation (NHF), those who purchased a property in England at the peak of the market in 2007 paid an average price of £216,800. They may [...]
Taylor Wimpey has reported “relatively robust” UK housing market conditions over the first half of 2010, having achieved 4,804 legal completions, up slightly from 4,702 a year earlier. The group sold 3,925 homes to private buyers and 866 to affordable housing providers, with the remainder joint ventures. Encouragingly, the developer’s cancellation rate scaled back to [...]
UK house prices fell back in July, for the first time since February, as buyer demand remained weak. According to Nationwide, the average value of a home declined by 0.5%, to £169,347, taking the annual rate of inflation down to 6.6%, compared with 8.7% in June. The lender notes that the sizeable drop is due [...]
Property website, Rightmove, has today reported the annual growth in asking prices for residential property in England and Wales for the four weeks to March 6 slowed for the first time in a year. On an annual basis, growth slowed from 6.1% in February to 5.3% in March, while on a monthly basis, asking prices [...]
UK house prices rose at a slower pace in December, as the gap between supply and demand narrowed. A new survey from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) reveals that 30% more Chartered Surveyors reported a rise, rather than a fall, compared with 35% reporting a rise in November. However, a significant majority of [...]
For every property on the market there are five potential buyers looking to snatch it up, new research has discovered. A study by the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) found estate agents had an average of 287 prospective buyers on their books in October. The average number of properties available at estate agents was [...]
Hometrack has reported that house prices in England remained level in June, as in May, easing the annual rate of decline in values to 8.7%. The housing intelligence firm suggests that a scarcity of homes for sale is propping up prices, with southern England experiencing the strongest market. According to the research, the past six [...]
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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