It is thought that with many traditional lenders having withdrawn from the market over the past eighteen months because of the credit crunch and the recession Santander has been able to access a larger slice of the mortgage pie.

In addition to having less competition in the market Santander has also been on a marketing drive to raise awareness of its mortgage and financial products, which has also helped to raise its profile and make its products and services more popular.This has led to one in every two mortgages issued in the UK being sold through the Spanish owned banking giant.

Competition in the mortgage market has been very stiff in the past, but since the onset of the global credit crunch a number of lenders have either reduced the number of products on offer or have dropped out of lending altogether.

This is an opportunity that has been seized by Santander, which has been able to get funding from the European Central Bank through the financial crisis and has therefore retained a strong position in the market.

In addition to enjoying great success in the mortgage market Santander has also been making its mark when it comes to savings deposits. The banks is said to have taken in nearly £15 billion in new savings, benefitting from the troubles of many of the building societies that have seen savers take their savings elsewhere.

Half of all new mortgages issued by Santander is a post from: Glitec Loans

Figures show that first time buyers in Scotland now need an average of £24,573 in order to be able to put a deposit down for a property and get onto the property ladder. This comes after lenders increased their deposit requirements for first time buyers over the past couple of years as a result of the global financial crisis.

This means that compared to 2007 the average first time buyer in Scotland had to find over £15,000 extra in order to be able to put down a deposit on a home based on the increasing demands of mortgage lenders.

The research was conducted by Hometrack, with officials from the firm stating that as a result of resilient house prices in some parts of Scotland coupled with severe mortgage restrictions from lenders many first time buyers who did not have a large amount of savings were pushed out of the property market.

Since 2007 the average quartile property price in Scotland was found to have increased by 1.6 percent according to the study, but in the same period the average deposit required by first time buyers increased by 154 percent. Just two years ago the average deposit required by Scottish first time buyers was less than £10,000.

It has now increased to nearly £25,000. It is thought that deposit levels for first time buyers in Scotland have risen by more than any other place in the UK, with the average increase showing in England and Wales standing at 129 percent.

An official from Hometrack stated: “The fact is that the average mortgage for first-time buyers has gone down to 75 per cent loan-to-value, so even while prices have fallen, that has been offset by the need for a larger deposit.”

154 percent increase in deposits required by first time buyers is a post from: Glitec Loans

The Department for Communities and Local Government stated that whilst overall prices increased by 2.9 percent the actual house price increases varied from area to area, and its report provided a breakdown of which areas had seen increases and by what level.

The report showed that England saw a 3 percent increase in house prices last year, whilst Scotland saw an increase of 3.8 percent. The level of increase seen in Wales was just 1 percent, and in Northern Ireland there was actually a fall in house prices, which fell by 6 percent.

This gave the overall house price increase of 2.9 percent across the UK, although some lenders have suggested that the increase for last year was greater than this.

A couple of lenders, Halifax and Nationwide, claimed that last year saw property prices increase by around 6 percent in the UK. However, the government report suggests that increases were not as high as this and therefore recovery in house prices was not as great as may previously have been reported.

The figures from the Department for Communities and Local Government indicate that property prices have now increased for eight months in a row. Many have seen these increases as signs of sustainable recovery within the property market.

One economist from Global Insight stated: “Virtually all house prices measures, including the DCLG, indicate that house prices troughed in the early months of 2009 and have been firming ever since. The revival in house prices since the early months of 2009 is a consequence of buyer affordability and interest being lifted by sharply reduced mortgage availability.”

Government reports on house price increases last year is a post from: Glitec Loans

The trend means that once more the property market has turned into a sellers market, with Nationwide figures showing that there has been an increase of over 8 percent in property prices over the past year fuelled by increased demand from buyers. The figures over the level of asking prices being reached with UK properties was released by the property company Hometrack.

Since the latter part of last year many industry groups and officials have been speaking about green shoots in the property market, with a number of signs of recovery in the field. Increased demand, rising property prices, and increased mortgage availability have all improved the outlook for the property market over recent months, although many are concerned over how long this might last and whether it is sustainable.

A statement from Hometrack read: ‘The proportion of the asking price has bounced back over the course of 2009 from a low of 88% in February 2009. This measure has now reached 93%, and is starting to plateau in the face of firmer pricing and reduced sales volumes.’

Another official said that things could be tricky for buyers wondering what sort of offer to put in, stating: ‘My tip would be to go in 10% below what you consider a fair price – but be realistic and don’t make it offensive – and then work up in small steps while letting the seller know you are serious.’

Properties selling at 93 percent of asking price is a post from: Glitec Loans

However, according to recent reports the availability of mortgages is starting to increase, and this means that first time buyers may soon be able to see the light at the end of the tunnel after a particularly tough period where some have found it impossible to get a mortgage.

In the past month the number of mortgage deals available on the UK market is said to have increased, and many lenders are said to have relaxed their rules slightly in order to make mortgages accessible to groups such as first time buyers.

This will come as great news for those that have been struggling to get a mortgage over the past couple of years as a result of the difficulties that have arisen because of the global credit crisis and the recession.

Compared to the start of this year the number of mortgage deals available from lenders in the UK is said to have increased by 20 percent, and in many cases the deals that have been coming onto the market have been asking for relatively low deposits of 10 percent of the property value.

With lenders having demanded in excess of 15 percent even from first time buyers over the past eighteen months this will come as a relief to the many first time buyers that do not have a hefty deposit available to put down.

One financial industry official said: “Better rates and an increase in appetite to lend could indicate that lenders are opening their doors just a little wider and trying to compete for business. If standard variable rates continue to rise, many customers will be forced to find a better deal elsewhere and lenders may now be wise and gearing towards the prospect.”

Mortgage availability on the increase is a post from: Glitec Loans

However, one charity is now hoping that it can save elderly homeowners that are interested in equity release hundreds or even thousands of pounds in fees through a new equity release service that it has launched.

The consumer watchdog Which? has said that the fees that are charged by advisors and equity release providers can be as high as several thousand pounds, which is a great deal for consumers to have to fork out. In addition to this the borrowers also have to cope with higher rates of interest and higher legal fees, all of which can add up to a tidy sum. Application fees and survey costs are also added to the monies that the homeowners have to pay out, and for many this turns into an extremely expensive process.

The equity release and advice service is now being launched by the charity the Consumer Credit Counselling Service. The charity has said that elderly homeowners could save themselves hundreds of pounds or even more than this because the charity will not be charging for advice and will not be receiving any commission from providers if the client does take out an equity release plan.

A CCCS spokesperson said: ‘We have spoken to several providers who say the percentage of their business from those looking to consolidate their debts has risen significantly. Our worry is that they don’t look at how their clients will cope with their other debts as they often can’t release enough to clear all their debts. Because we offer debt advice, we look at the whole picture. In some cases, the solution will be to sell their home and downsize. Equity release is just one option among many possibilities for solving debt problems.’

Elderly could save money with equity release service from charity is a post from: Glitec Loans

Ideally the company should rent back the property to the former homeowner for life, but often this is not the case and the former homeowners find themselves being evicted within a short period of time.

However, this could all change as a result of new regulations that are being brought in. More and more homeowners have had to turn to sale and rent back schemes as a result of being unable to sell their home during the credit crunch or because they have fallen into negative equity or are struggling to make mortgage repayments and could risk being repossessed.

The rising number of people that are now at the mercy of more unscrupulous sale and rent back companies has spurred the authorities to take action and do something about the problems that are rife in this industry.

Under the new regulations those that sell their homes to sale and rent back companies will be guaranteed at tenancy at the property for at least a five year period, which means that the company will not be able to purchase the property at a knock down price and then evict the former homeowners.

The new regulations are set to come into play in June of this year and will bring some of the unscrupulous practices that were being exercised by some of these companies to an end.

Ed Harley from the Financial Services Authority stated: “For some people in financial difficulty, staying in their home remains very important [and] selling their home and renting it back in this way can be right for them. But we are aware of some firms exploiting vulnerable consumers at a difficult time. So, it is right that we introduce these further protections, and we will take swift action where they are not met.”

Five year tenancies to be given with sale and rent back schemes is a post from: Glitec Loans

The level of repossessions in the UK soared to such a point that the government has been trying to take action by putting measures into place to try and reduce the level of repossessions.

It has now emerged that the UK’s financial regulator, the Financial Services Authority, has proposed new regulations that could provide increased protection for homeowners that are in arrears with their mortgages.

The FSA has stated that is wants to ensure that homeowners that have fallen into arrears get fair treatment from lenders, and in particular this applies to those that have had to borrow money from specialist lenders.

Part of the new proposals from the FSA include ensuring that homeowners that are not hit with unfair and unnecessary charges by lenders as a result of being in arrears.

The regulator also wants to make sure that repossession action is only taken as a last resort by lenders after all other options have been looked at.

The proposals come as part of a review that the Financial Services Authority has been carrying out into the workings of the mortgage market in the UK. This came after earlier research that indicated some homeowners in arrears were being treated aggressively by lenders.

The FSA stated: “Today’s proposals underline the standards that firms must meet and will help to ensure that homeowners in financial difficulties are treated fairly. Lenders need to be in no doubt of their obligations to customers who fall behind with payments and must realise that such circumstances are not an opportunity to create further profits.”

FSA proposes new rules for those in mortgage arrears is a post from: Glitec Loans

The base rate has been at an all time low of just 0.5 percent for the past ten months, and as such many of the more favourable deals from lenders are the standard variable rate mortgages.

According to reports the popularity of standard variable rate mortgages is continuing to grow, as lenders are offering some very competitive deals as a result of the low base interest rate. John Charcol, the mortgage broker, released figures recently showing that over 80 percent of the mortgages that it arranged in December of last year were variable rate mortgage deals. With many economists predicting that the base rate could remain at this low level for some time to come the popularity of variable rate deals could continue to grow.

The low interest rates on variable mortgages have also affected remortgaging levels, and this is because many of the borrowers that were on special mortgage deals, such as fixed rate mortgage deals, for a period of time are simply allowing their mortgage to revert to the standard variable rate with their lender rather than finding another fixed rate deal or a different deal.

A spokesperson from John Charcol stated: “With the average difference between the fixed rates and the initial rate on the best trackers around 1.5% in favour of trackers, it will currently take a substantial rise in Bank rate for a borrower who takes a tracker to be worse off than one who opts for a fixed rate.”

Continued popularity for variable rate mortgages is a post from: Glitec Loans

The latest survey from Nationwide has shown that in January of this year the average house price increased by 1.2 percent, and this took the annual rate up to 8.6 percent. This has pushed the annual rate of increase up to 8.6 percent.

The average property price in the UK has now increased to £163,481 as a result of the latest increase. The Land Registry also carried out a separate survey, which showed that annual changes in property values had shown an increase for the first time since May 2008.

Officials from the Nationwide have said that house prices have now been increasing for nine consecutive months, and with the rate of increase being at its fastest since October 2007. The lender said that the continuing increase in property prices had come as something of a surprise taking into account that the UK had been in such a long and deep recession of the past year.

The chief economist from the Nationwide stated: “House prices strengthened their upward momentum at the start of 2010, increasing by a seasonally adjusted 1.2% month-on-month in January. Unless there is a fall in property values in February, annual house price inflation is likely to move into double-digit territory next month for the first time since May 2007.”

Nationwide predicts good news for house prices is a post from: Glitec Loans