In a recent report released earlier this month officials from the Council of Mortgage Lenders claimed that the number of value of homes loans had fallen to the lowest level of record, with the number of home loans dished out in the month of August standing at just 42,000, which reflects a drop of 59% compared to one year earlier just before the global credit crunch gripped the financial markets in the UK and around the world. (more…)
Archive for October, 2008
Bad news on home loan numbers from CML
Thursday, October 30th, 2008
Are firmer regulations needed over sale and rent back firms?
Wednesday, October 29th, 2008Over the last couple of years we have heard more and more about sale and rent back schemes, which many of us may never have heard of before. However, since interest rates started to soar in 2006, many homeowners found that they were not able to keep up with rising mortgage repayments, and this resulted in them having to take drastic action to avoid losing their homes altogether. The problems have become worse over the past year as a result of soaring living costs, rising bills, and tighter credit conditions, which have all adversely affected the ability of many homeowners to keep on top of their mortgage repayments. (more…)
£30,000 fine for mortgage broker
Wednesday, October 29th, 2008A mortgage broker from the UK has been fined a massive £30,000 by authorities after being accused of giving advice that put consumers at risk during the ongoing global credit crunch and financial crisis. William John Evans, along with a fellow director from Abbey Mortgages, were fined by the Financial Services Authority earlier this month. The FSA is exercising an ongoing crackdown on unscrupulous lenders and brokers given the current financial climate and the state of the housing and mortgage markets. (more…)
Buy to let investors could be forced to sell or face repossession
Friday, October 24th, 2008A recent report has indicated that following the collapse and part nationalisation of the lender Bradford & Bingley, which dealt primarily with buy to let mortgages, many landlords could find themselves faced with the prospect of either selling their properties or being repossessed. Many landlords that are coming to the end of special deals such as fixed rate mortgages will find that they are unable to get another affordable mortgage, and could find their repayments rising by hundreds of pounds a month. (more…)
Mortgage deals axed following B&B collapse
Thursday, October 23rd, 2008According to a recent report a huge number of mortgage products from lenders were axed following the high profile collapse of Bradford & Bingley, which was recently part nationalised. Shortly after the collapse over 10% of mortgage that were on offer to borrowers, buy to let investors, and those looking to remortgage were pulled from the shelves. This equates to over one in ten mortgage deals being pulled from the shelves in the wake of the B&B disaster. (more…)
House prices fall in September
Wednesday, October 22nd, 2008According to a recent report house prices have fallen again in September, with officials from the Halifax claiming that prices have dropped by around 1.3% for the month. The Halifax has stated that the September fall means that the annual price drop now registers at 12.4%, and the average house price has now fallen to £172,108. The Halifax stated that mortgage lending conditions were still very tight, and this meant that the state of the market was likely to remain difficult. (more…)
Banks cut mortgage rates after surprise announcement
Tuesday, October 21st, 2008Earlier this week the Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, and the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Alistair Darling, announced that the UK base rate was being cut by 0.5% from 5% to 4.5% in a surprise move one day ahead of the Monetary Policy Committee meeting. Other central banks around the globe, including the US Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank, also cut their base rates by 0.5% in a bid to try and stabilise the financial markets, boost the economy, and restore consumer confidence. (more…)
Surprise rate cut from central banks
Monday, October 20th, 2008Earlier this week the Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, and the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Alistair Darling, called a press conference where they announced that the UK’s base interest rate had been cut by 0.5% in an unprecedented move that saw central banks around the glob cutting their interest rates. The move came just one day before the Monetary Policy Committee meeting – where the interest rate movement is normally decided – was due to go ahead. (more…)
5% deposit mortgages difficult to find
Sunday, October 19th, 2008A recent report has indicated that the traditional 95% mortgage, with just a 5% deposit from the borrower, is becoming increasingly difficult to find. Until the onset of the credit crunch borrowers could easily get 95% mortgages, 100% mortgages, and even 125% mortgages, but over the past year all of this has changed. The 125% mortgage was the first to disappear as a result of the conditions stemming from the global credit crunch, and this was quickly followed by the 100% mortgage. (more…)
House price recovery could take over seven years
Saturday, October 18th, 2008A recent report has suggested that it could take seven years or longer for a recovery in house prices to be seen in the UK. Researchers have said that it could take until around 2016 for house prices to reach the same level as they did last year when they peaked before starting to plummet. This is bad news for those that have purchased properties recently, and are therefore facing negative equity as a result of falling house prices. This is where the homeowners ends up owing more on their property than the property is actually worth. (more…)
Help needed for homebuyers states OFT
Friday, October 17th, 2008Officials from the Office of Fair Trading have stated that more help is needed for homebuyers in the UK from house builders. Following an investigation by the OFT, house builders are to set up a new code of conduct to address issues relating to dissatisfied customers. The investigation showed that many home buyers had experienced problems with the property or delays in terms of moving into the property, although it did describe the sector as still being ‘broadly competitive’. (more…)
The gap widens between buyers and sellers
Thursday, October 16th, 2008Over the years an understanding has developed between sellers and buyers when it comes to the property market. Buyers are well aware that sellers will pull out all the stops to try and get the asking price on a property, and that many would put their property up at a slightly higher price so that they could account for any drop in the asking price. Sellers, also, have always expected buyers to haggle when it comes to the amount that they offer for the property. (more…)
CML said mortgage lending fell again in August
Thursday, October 16th, 2008According to officials from the Council of Mortgage Lenders mortgage lending levels fell in August, with the value of mortgage lending having fallen by 12 percent compared to July and by 36 percent compared to August of the previous year. The total amount of new mortgage lending for the month came to just £21.8 billion. This was the lowest level of mortgage lending since 2005 and the lowest level of mortgage lending in August since 2002. (more…)
FOS still cracking down on loan insurance
Wednesday, October 15th, 2008Although the subject of loan insurance, otherwise known as Payment Protection Insurance or PPI, has been at the centre of heated controversy for some time, this product still continues to attract complaints from customers and concerns from a variety of industry professionals. In fact, the UK’s financial regulator, the Financial Services Authority, and the Financial Ombudsman Service are continuing to crack down when it comes to PPI, having already imposed sky high fines on some lenders and companies that have been found to have been mis-selling this form of cover. (more…)
Auction cut prices on property
Tuesday, October 14th, 2008Potential property purchasers that want to take their chances on properties that go up for sale at auction could benefit according to a recent report, which suggests that auctions are cutting the prices of their properties. Auctioneers are being forced to cut the prices on properties going under the hammer due to the housing slump, and many buyers heading for the auctions could enjoy huge savings as a result of this. (more…)
Consumers warned over high fees on mortgages
Monday, October 13th, 2008With interest rates still high and consumer affordability stretched many people looking to remortgage or take out a new home loan are looking out for competitive headline rates to try and get the best deal possible at a financially difficult time. However, industry experts have stated that consumers need to be careful that they do not take on a mortgage based purely on the headline rate, as they could otherwise find that they are pulled in by what looks like an attractive rate of interest but are then left facing huge arrangement fees and costs. (more…)
Sell your home online and save some money
Sunday, October 12th, 2008Industry experts have pointed out that some homeowners who want to sell their properties and want to try and recoup some of the money lost through falling property prices could actually benefit financially by selling their home online rather than through the traditional and expensive route of using an estate agent. This could be especially beneficial given that estate agents have reported that their sales have slumped to an average of less than one property per week. (more…)
Government takes on the loans of another bank
Saturday, October 11th, 2008Early this year the government announced that it was taking over the stricken bank Northern Rock, and passed legislation to allow the rapid nationalisation of the bank. The government has now used this same legislation to rush through the nationalisation of another struggling lender, the Bradford & Bingley. The government has announced that it is taking over the loan books of the bank, which stand at £50 billion, much of which has been lent to buy to let investors. (more…)
FOS and FSA still cracking down on loan insurance
Friday, October 10th, 2008Although the subject of loan insurance, otherwise known as Payment Protection Insurance or PPI, has been at the centre of heated controversy for some time, this product still continues to attract complaints from customers and concerns from a variety of industry professionals. In fact, the UK’s financial regulator, the Financial Services Authority, and the Financial Ombudsman Service are continuing to crack down when it comes to PPI, having already imposed sky high fines on some lenders and companies that have been found to have been mis-selling this form of cover. (more…)
Increased stamp duty relief from housing developer
Thursday, October 9th, 2008Barratt Homes, a giant in the housing development sector, has recently launched a new incentive to try and boost the property market by offering to pay the stamp duty for buyers purchasing properties between £175,000 and £500,000. Properties under the value of £125,000 are exempt from stamp duty, and properties between £125,000 and £175,000 are exempt on a temporary basis, after the government introduced a twelve month suspension on stamp duty up to £175,000 recently to try and breathe life back into the housing market. (more…)
Mixed reactions on housing proposals from government
Wednesday, October 8th, 2008The government in the UK has made a number of new proposals recently to try and kick start the slow housing market, and amongst the actions taken by the government are a suspension in stamp duty for properties up to £175,000, and also the provision of loans for first time buyers looking to purchase new build properties. Industry groups and officials have offered mixed reactions to these moves, some of which can be seen below. (more…)
Man sues estate agent over £2.9 million sale
Tuesday, October 7th, 2008A man has decided to sue an estate agent over the £2.9 million sale of his property. The man, Barry McKay, claims that he was tricked into selling the property to the one person that he did not want to purchase it. He claims that he told the estate agent that he did not want the property to be sold to property tycoon, John Morris, but that the estate agent still sold the property to Morris without telling McKay. (more…)
Is it time to scrap HIPs?
Tuesday, October 7th, 2008There is no doubt that when legislation relating to Home Information Packs was brought in the year before last there was a great deal of controversy and dissatisfaction amongst both homeowners and various industry groups, such as estate agents. Officials from the Labour government have been insisting that these packs are a good idea, and that they will make the house selling process far faster. However, whilst Labour officials continue to defend these HIPs officials from other parties are insistent that they need to be scrapped. (more…)
Pressure on Gordon Brown over housing market
Monday, October 6th, 2008According to recent reports the Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, has been under increasing pressure over the past few days to follow the example of the United States is devising some sort of bailout plan for the housing market. The US government recently announced a $700 billion proposal that would be aimed at bailing out Wall Street, although the plan has come under severe criticism because it will be the taxpayer that foots the bill, and many are concerned that most taxpayers will not even benefit from the plan. (more…)
Will suspension on stamp duty restore confidence amongst buyers?
Sunday, October 5th, 2008Over recent months industry officials, housing developers, and the government have been desperately looking at ways to breathe life back onto the housing market, after house sales plummeted to record lows and estate agents reported average property sales equating to less than one home per week. With a number of factors affecting the housing market in the UK industry officials have been left with the difficult task of working out just how the industry can be boosted. (more…)
Rural property prices suffer falls
Sunday, October 5th, 2008According to recent reports properties in rural areas are now feeling the effects of the housing slump and the global credit crunch, with the value of homes in rural areas having fallen by 7.9 percent in the space of a year. This includes cottages and country mansions, and with fewer people now able to afford a second country home many homeowners in these rural areas are finding that their properties are becoming increasingly difficult to shift when they are put up for sale. (more…)
Mortgage bailout could cost taxpayers £40 billion
Saturday, October 4th, 2008According to some officials plans being looked into by ministers and the government to try and rescue the mortgage market could end up costing taxpayers around £40 billion. Reports have suggested that the government may will looking to underwrite billions of pounds worth of mortgages in a scheme that would see the type of government guarantee extended to Northern Rock also being extended to other home loans. (more…)
Interest rates on mortgages almost down to 2007 levels
Friday, October 3rd, 2008The interest rates on some mortgage products are now almost the same as they were in the summer of last year before the onset of the global credit crunch, according to a recent report. Officials from Moneyfacts have recently researched mortgage interest rates, and have found that in many cases they average rates are only very slightly higher than they were in summer of 2007. (more…)
Increased competition in the mortgage market
Thursday, October 2nd, 2008There is little doubt that the mortgage market in the UK is still reeling from the havoc caused by the global credit crunch, which made its way across the Atlantic last summer, leaving a trail of destruction in its path. The mortgage industry has been suffering for a year now, with lenders unable to raise funds to finance their mortgage lending operations, and consumers unable to get the finance that they need to buy a property, thus leading to ongoing problems in the housing market. (more…)
Households could save thousands if rate cuts go ahead
Wednesday, October 1st, 2008There has been a great deal of speculation over when and by how much the Bank of England will cut the base interest rate over the next year, with inflationary pressures coupled with the threat of recession making decisions challenging for the Monetary Policy Committee. A number of industry officials have now said that the state of the economy will result in the central bank cutting rates a number of times over the next twelve months, with some guessing that the base rate could fall to 3.5% next year. (more…)
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