Over recent years the housing boom has made the buy to let market an attractive proposition for investors in the UK and a rising number of people have decided to enter the buy to let market in order to invest in their future. However, last summer brought with it the global credit crunch, which has [...]

One member of the Monetary Policy Committee, which is involves in cutting rates, has recently called for major cuts to the UK’s base rate in order to avoid an economic slump that could last for a long period of time. The warning comes from MPC member David Blanchflower, who has been consistently voting for a [...]

Both consumers and lenders have been adversely affected by the global credit crunch since it swept across the nation last summer. Lenders have found it increasingly difficult and expensive to secure finance on the wholesale money markets to fund their mortgage lending activities, and as such have had to slash the number of mortgage products [...]

A recent report has shown that there was a slight upturn in mortgage lending for the month of July, with mortgage lending levels said to have risen by 5%. Mortgage lending levels have been in decline for some months as a result of the global credit crunch which has seen a reduction in mortgage products [...]

Most people are aware that conditions in the housing market have become increasingly difficult over recent months, and with the mortgage sector still suffering the effects of the global credit crunch and with house prices falling, many homeowners have found that it is difficult or impossible to sell their homes. Estate agents have reported the [...]

The word recession is one that strikes fear into the hearts of many, particularly those that remember the dark days of the late 1980s and early 1990s. However, over recent months the nation has seen financial markets dry up, house prices plunge, credit conditions become increasingly tight, inflation levels soar, and consumer confidence dwindle. It [...]

According to a recent report homeowners that are trying to sell their homes are knocking a fortune off the asking price in order to secure a sale in what have become very difficult conditions in the housing market. House prices have been falling month on month for some time now, but despite this many sellers [...]

Although house prices have been falling for almost a year in the UK many consumers are still unable to afford to purchase a home due to a variety of factors. Mortgages are in short supply at present, which is creating a problem. And whilst lenders have been cutting their interest rates recently the costs associated [...]

A recent report showed how mortgage approval levels for new home buyers in the UK plummeted in May, further reflecting the ongoing housing and mortgage slump that has come about as a result of the global credit crunch. House prices have been falling for some months now, and mortgage availability has been getting tighter Officials [...]

According to recent reports house prices in the UK have continued their downward spiral for the month of June, with a number of leading mortgage lenders and banks publishing figures that make for gloomy reading. One of the latest lenders to release house prices figures for June was the Halifax, which confirmed that house prices [...]

A couple of high profile, well known house builders have recently had to slash their workforce by around 40% as a result of the housing market, which has all but ground to a halt due to lack of property sales and plummeting house prices. Property sales have now plummeted because many people are unable to [...]

A recent report has suggested that house prices in the UK could fall by around one third by 2010, which would mean that within a couple of years many homeowners could see thousands of pounds wiped off the value of their homes. Officials from Deloitte recently released the report indicating that house prices could nosedive [...]

As a nation we Brits love to try things before we invest our hard earned cash in a purchase. When we purchase a new car we take it for a test drive to see whether it is suitable for our needs, when we buy new equipment such as a computer we ask for a demo [...]

According to a recent report around 1.7 million people are facing the threat of negative equity if house prices continue falling at the same rate as they have been for the past few months. Officials from Standard and Poor have predicted that over the next year house prices could fall by a further 17%, and [...]

Many Londoners could find it increasingly difficult to sell their homes if they live near to the Thames, if new plans that have been proposed come into force. The new plans will require homeowners who are selling their properties to inform potential buyers of any flood risk. This has been proposed by Sir Michael Pitt, [...]

In a recent speech the governor of the Bank of England, Mervyn King, said that there was a good chance that any further interest rate cuts for the remainder of this year would be put on hold, with the central bank now concerned that the soaring rate of inflation is getting more and more out [...]

According to recent figures there has been a significant fall in the number of mortgage approvals for homebuyers. Recent figures have shown that mortgage approval levels for homebuyers have fallen by around 64% over the past year. According to officials from the Bank of England approval levels for homebuyers have dropped to levels last seen [...]

There have been a number of different opinions and predictions from industry officials in relation to the UK’s economy of late. Most have been relatively gloomy and some have been downright worrying, with many officials expressing concern over how close the nation is of sliding into recession. According to a recent report the UK’s largest [...]

According to a recent report the demand for buy to let mortgage loans has been falling, even though the demand for rental properties is still high. Officials have found that there has recently been a surge in the number of rental properties coming onto the market, but this is largely due to the high number [...]

Any homeowner in England and Wales is probably keeping a close eye on what is happening with property prices, as according to industry officials house prices have been tumbling now for around ten consecutive months. According to a recent report released by the Nationwide Building Society house prices fell a further 1.9% in July compared [...]

Since the housing slump began some months ago in the UK there have been many problems for homeowners that are trying to sell their properties. Property sales in England and Wales have gone through the floor for a number of reasons. Falling house prices have put some people off buying for fear of falling into [...]

The poor activity in the housing market in terms of sales has affected many different industries, such as property removal industry, property lawyers, furniture retailers, and estate agents. Over recent months there have been many concerns raised about the number of estate agencies that could end up closing down as a result of poor property [...]

Since the onset of the global credit crunch borrowing costs for those looking for a mortgage have increased dramatically in terms of interest rates, arrangement fees, and deposit levels. Those looking to take out a mortgage spend time shopping around for the most competitive rate, and there are some competitive deals still available. However, industry [...]

Over recent months we have heard a lot about both soaring inflation levels and falling interest rates. Between August 2006 and July 2007 the nation saw interest rates rise five times, each time by 0.25%, taking the base rate up to 5.75%. However, between December of last year and April of this year the base [...]

Following a ten year house price boom, which lasted until last October, homeowners in the UK have seen the value of their homes fall month on month, with property prices having dropped for the last consecutive ten months according to industry officials. This has raised concerns for many over falling into negative equity. One recent [...]

The Internet bank first direct, which is part of the High Street banks, HSBC, has recently launched a new mortgage product that may prove of interest to some people that are looking to remortgage. The new offset loan has been described as a market leading fee free loan. This is a base rate tracker offset [...]

Those looking to take out a mortgage in the UK are currently facing difficulties because of the freeze on approving mortgage that many of the lenders have in place. According to the Crosby Report, this freeze is expected to last for another two years. Sir James Crosby, the former chairman of HBOS, has informed government [...]

The Bank of England has announced that the base rate for August is to be held at 5% following the Monetary Policy Committee meeting, which was held last week to determine any movement in the base interest rate. It is a move that has come as no big surprise to most, with soaring inflation levels [...]

The Spanish owned high street lender, Abbey, as recently reported that it has increased its share of the UK mortgage market dramatically over recent months, and this has resulted in the lender becoming the number one mortgage lender in the nation, overtaking the Halifax. Since the onset of the global credit crunch many UK lenders [...]

According to a recent report released by the British Banker’s Association, mortgage approval levels for May slumped this year, falling to the lowest level on record. The figures show that the number of mortgage approved in May fell to under 28,000, and this was a drop of 20% compared to April. The May figure was [...]

According to a recent report the Office of Fair Trading is to look more closely at payday loans, and this follows calls from a variety of debt campaigners and charities to launch an investigation into payday loans because of the high rate of interest that is charged on these loans. Payday loans are short term [...]

A recent report has shown that house sales in the UK have slumped by 40%, as the nation continues to go through a mortgage and housing market meltdown. Poor property sales have been affecting the market for some months, with a number of factors affecting the falling sales levels in the UK, and estate agents [...]

Some parts of London have recently seen rents on properties fall by around 20%, after a surge in properties going up for rent resulted in greater supply than demand. It has not been long since reports indicated that rents in the area had actually be rising by up to 8% a year, with landlords making [...]