Figures that have recently been released have shown that mortgage lending for the month of October rose by around 7 percent, with gross mortgage lending totalling £18.7 billion for October compared to £17.5 billion for September. However, whilst mortgage lending for the month has risen compared to the previous month officials have said that lending in October was still around 44 percent lower than the same time last year. (more…)
Archive for November, 2008
Mortgage lending levels rise for October
Sunday, November 30th, 2008
Possible good news for those with commercial mortgages
Saturday, November 29th, 2008According to an industry expert people with commercial mortgages could enjoy some good news, as it has been predicted that in the coming months interest rates could fall to as low as 2.5 percent. One industry experts has said that it is likely that the Bank of England will soon cut the base rate by a further 0.5 percent, following cuts adding up to 2 percent over the past two months. (more…)
Prime minister says still room for rate cuts
Friday, November 28th, 2008The base rate in the UK has fallen dramatically over the course of the last year, with the rate falling from 5.75% to 3%, with a recent huge interest rate cut of 1.5% this month alone. The Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, said that cutting interest rate was vital in order to weather the global financial crisis and the economic downturn, and he indicated that there was room for further interest rate cuts. (more…)
Base rate cuts need time to take effect
Thursday, November 27th, 2008A policymaker from the Bank of England has said that the recent rate cuts are going to take some time to take effect and feed through to the economy. Andrew Sentance reckons that negative performance indicators in the economy will continue into next year despite the recent drastic rate cuts, as these will need time to actually filter through and will not make any immediate difference to the economy. (more…)
How will buy to let landlords fare after B&B collapse?
Monday, November 24th, 2008The recent collapse and part nationalisation of Bradford and Bingley came as a shock to some, and none more so than the many buy to let landlords that have been affected by what has happened to the lenders. The Bradford & Bingley has been a primarily buy to let lender, and many landlords may have had buy to let mortgages with the lender set at special rates for a fixed period. Moreover many of these landlords may be due to come off these set rates, and this could prove to be a problem for some. (more…)
Slight increase in mortgage approval levels for September
Sunday, November 23rd, 2008According to recently released figures there was a slight increase in the level of mortgage approvals in the UK during the month of September compared to the previous month. There were 21,342 mortgages approved for the month of August, and there was a slight increase for September, where 23,422 mortgages were approved. Whilst the slight increase in mortgage lending may seem encouraging, officials have warned that mortgage approvals for September were still 57% lower than in September of last year. (more…)
Rise in number of dodgy mortgage brokers
Friday, November 21st, 2008Over the past three years there has been a marked rise in the number of mortgage brokers under the watchful eye of the UK’s financial regulator, the Financial Services Authority, with a rising number of brokers being fined for malpractice and mis-selling. The FSA has been cracking down particularly hard over the past year as a result of the chaos and turbulence that has gripped the financial, mortgage, and housing sectors since the onset of the global credit crunch. (more…)
Is the current house price crash worse than that of the 1990s?
Thursday, November 20th, 2008As most people are only too aware the value of property has been falling month on month for the past year, and property prices have plummeted since they hit their peak last October. Many homeowners have seen thousands of pounds wiped off the value of their homes in the space of just one year, and those that bought their properties more recently are facing the threat of negative equity, where they end up owing more on their home than the property is actually worth. (more…)
Repossession levels soar
Wednesday, November 19th, 2008Recently released figures have shown that repossession levels have soared recently, and that in the months to come the number of repossessions compared to last year could rise even further. Figures from the Financial Services Authority have indicated that repossession levels increased by around 71% between April and June of this year compared to the same period last year, and during this period around one hundred and twenty homeowners per day were being evicted. (more…)
House prices driven down by low sales levels
Monday, November 17th, 2008Over recent months the level of property sales in the UK has plummeted, and estate agents have reported that on average they have been selling less than one property a week. Industry officials have now reported that the low level of property sales has been driving down the value of homes, and one major lender claims that house prices are now almost 15% lower than they were this time last year. (more…)
Sellers being forced to slash prices
Friday, November 14th, 2008According to a recent report homeowners that are looking to sell their properties are being forced to slash their asking prices in order to secure any hope of selling their property in the current financial climate. Fears over negative equity due to falling property prices, coupled with difficulties in obtaining affordable mortgages, has left many people unable or unwilling to purchase properties, and sellers are having to reduce the asking price by way of incentive to encourage people to buy. (more…)
Some mortgage lenders making money from base rate cuts
Friday, November 14th, 2008Between last December and April of this year the base rate was cut three times, each time by 0.25%. In a surprise move earlier this month, a day ahead of the October Monetary Policy Committee meeting, the Bank of England cut the base rate by a further 0.5% taking it to 4.5%. it was hoped that the rate cut would help to boost consumer confidence and the economy, and would ease financial pressures that were facing many households. (more…)
House price falls worse than in 1990s
Thursday, November 13th, 2008A recent report has suggested that the house price falls that are currently being experienced in the UK are actually worse than those seen in the 1990s. In fact, the data suggests that in the past twelve months the average UK home has lost more in value than the whole of the period in the early 1990s when the last property price crash occurred. Since September of last year over £26,000 has been wiped off the value of the average property, and this reflects a price fall of around 13.3%. (more…)
Brits being hit with rocketing loan interest rates
Wednesday, November 12th, 2008Since the onset of the global credit crunch consumers in the UK have been affected in many ways, with the cost of borrowing rocketing and with availability of finance in all sectors becoming more restricted and difficult. Many consumers have found that whilst they were able to get finance with relative ease a year or so ago, these days getting a loan or other form of finance is not so easy. Also, many have found that the cost of taking out a loan or other form of finance has gone up. (more…)
Nationwide passes on some of interest rate cut
Tuesday, November 11th, 2008According to recent report the Nationwide Building Society is planning to pass on part of the latest base rate cut, although it will not be passing on the full rate cut to borrowers. Officials state that as of the start of November Nationwide will be reducing the interest rates on its standard variable rate mortgages by a third of a percent, taking the rate from 6.49% to 6.19%. (more…)
Competition Commission concerned over competition with PPI
Monday, November 10th, 2008The financial news has been filled with stories about problems relating to payment protection insurance or PPI, with evidence that this insurance has been mis-sold to consumers for a number of years, and that lenders were using a range of tactics to try and make borrowers take out this cover when taking out finance. (more…)
How can you get your hands on a cheaper property?
Sunday, November 9th, 2008The value of properties across the UK has been falling over the past year, and it is thought that house prices now are around 13% lower than they were at their peak, which was last October. However, despite the house prices falls the ten year housing boom over the past decade means that the cost of purchasing a property in the UK can still be very high. Many would be buyers are still nervous about whether or not to take the plunge and buy a property due to fears over continuing house price falls, which could leave many facing negative equity. (more…)
Lending from banks becomes even tighter
Friday, November 7th, 2008According to a recent report lending amongst UK banks is getting even more difficult, and many of the banks and building societies in the UK are set to cut their lending level even more than they have over the past year, since the onset of the global credit crunch. This data comes from a report from the Bank of England. The report also claims that the fall in new mortgages over the past three months had been bigger than expected. (more…)
High mortgage fees are something that consumers need to look out for
Thursday, November 6th, 2008Industry officials are warning that consumers need to make sure that they are vigilant about the fees and additional charges that are being applied to many mortgage products, as these can be very expensive and can really bump up the cost of the mortgage loan. Officials have stated that many people that are looking for mortgage loans or a remortgage are simply looking at the headline rate without looking at what sorts of other costs are involved. (more…)
PPI has very little competition says Competition Commission
Wednesday, November 5th, 2008PPI or Payment Protection Insurance has been at the centre of controversy for some time, with investigations revealing that in many cases this costly insurance cover was being mis-sold to consumers who did not want it, did not need it, and could not even benefit from it in some cases. PPI is a type of insurance cover that is sold alongside finance such as loan or credit cards, but it was revealed that many lenders were using persuasion tactics to sell it, making consumers believe that they had to take it, or were even adding it onto agreements without the consumers’ knowledge. (more…)
Could struggling homeowners get help due to new regulations?
Tuesday, November 4th, 2008Over the past year many homeowners have lost their homes to repossession as a result of falling behind on mortgage repayments as credit conditions have become more difficult and living costs have soared. With the financial markets and the housing markets in their worst state in decades the government has decided to take action and try and help struggling homeowners by bringing in new regulations relating to repossessions by lenders. (more…)
Financial crisis prompts more people to take debt advice
Tuesday, November 4th, 2008The effects of the global financial crisis are being reflected in the rising number of people seeking advice about their debts, according to officials from the Citizens Advice Bureau. The CAB claims that over the past year the level of enquiries relating to debt problems has soared by one third, and over the past few months alone, with finances getting increasingly tight for many households, there has been a sharp spike in the number of debt related enquiries. (more…)
London homes up for sale for three months or longer
Monday, November 3rd, 2008Industry officials have claimed in a recent report that many of the properties going up for sale in London are up for sale for three months or longer. The slump in the housing market has resulted in many homes stagnating on estate agents’ books, with many buyers either unwilling to buy due to falling house prices and the threat of negative equity, or unable to buy because they cannot get a mortgage in the current financial climate. (more…)
Estate agent sales levels result in fee free sales
Saturday, November 1st, 2008As many news reports have shown the number of properties being sold in the UK has plunged over recent months, and homeowners that are looking to sell up are suffering real problems. Many people cannot get a mortgage to purchase a property at present because of the tighter credit conditions, and many others do not want to buy a property at a time when house prices are still falling for fear that they could be plunged into negative equity. (more…)