According to a recent report more and more people are now trying to reduce their mortgage debt by overpaying on their mortgages as and when they are able to. (more…)
Tags: lloyds tsb, home equity, mortgage debtAccording to a recent report more and more people are now trying to reduce their mortgage debt by overpaying on their mortgages as and when they are able to. (more…)
Tags: lloyds tsb, home equity, mortgage debtThe Council of Mortgage Lenders has asked for a lower cap to be introduced, which would mean that mortgage lenders would not be expected to reduce their mortgage interest rates beyond a certain level. (more…)
Tags: council of mortgage lenders, CML, interest rates, Homeowner Mortgage Support SchemeLast year the Council of Mortgage Lenders predicted that the number of repossessions in the UK could reach as many as 75,000 over the course of this year, which is a worrying figure in itself. (more…)
Tags: homeowners, mortgages, repossessionsRecent reports have suggested that the number of people now turning to standard variable rate mortgages is increasing, as borrowers take advantage of the sharp falls in the base interest rate. Just a couple of years ago borrowers were flocking to take out fixed rate mortgages following a series of base rate increases and amidst fears of further rate increases. (more…)
Tags: variable rate mortgagesRecent figures have shown that property prices fell for a sixteenth month in a row in January.
House prices have been plummeting for the last year and a half, with homeowners seeing thousands of pounds worth of equity being wiped of the value of their homes. (more…)
Tags: bba, house pricesA recent report has highlighted how many British homeowners that have fixed rate mortgage deals in place may be missing out financially because of the cut in interest rates over recent months. (more…)
Tags: fixed rate mortgages, bank of englandIndustry officials have recently highlighted the benefits of overpaying on a mortgage loan, as the practice of paying more than is necessary on a mortgage loan becomes more popular. (more…)
Tags: overpay mortgageDuring the third quarter of last year the number of people that were losing their homes nearly doubled, according to recent reports. (more…)
Tags: FSA, council of mortgage lenders, repossessionsAccording to recently released figures 2008 saw house prices in the UK fall by 15.9 percent. The figures come from a survey from the Nationwide Building Society. (more…)
Tags: house pricesHSBC has enjoyed being named the top mortgage lender of 2008 recently, taking the title from the 2008 winner, which was the Furness Building Society. (more…)
Tags: mortgage lending, hsbcAccording to recent reports a major Irish bank plans to cut back on its mortgage lending operations in the UK, further impacting on the already struggling mortgage market and increasing the difficulties that borrowers face when it comes to getting a mortgage. (more…)
Tags: bank of irelandThe Land Registry has recently released figures that show that house prices fell by a nearly 2 percent in November, taking another tumble of around 1.9 percent. Officials said that as market activity fell for yet another month the value of homes also fell. (more…)
Tags: house pricesThe results of a recent poll have revealed that an increasing number of middle class homeowners are concerned that they will not be able to keep on top of their mortgage repayments over the coming year, according to a recent report. (more…)
Tags: middle class, mortgagesAccording to recently released reports many of the estate agents in the London area have been selling an average of less than one property per month, as the housing downturn continues its downward spiral. (more…)
Tags: london estate agents, house pricesAccording to recent reports many banks are now using a range of excuses to turn down mortgage applications, as more and more banks shy away from lending money as a result of the ongoing financial crisis. Reports have claimed that lenders are using any excuse to turn down mortgage applications from consumers, adding that potential borrowers are being turned down for ‘the most spurious of reasons’. (more…)
Tags: banks refuse mortgages, mortgagesFollowing the recent Monetary Policy Committee meeting held last week the Bank of England has announced that the UK base interest rate has been cut yet again, falling by 0.5 percent from 2 percent to just 1.5 percent. (more…)
Tags: interest rates, bank of englandTwo major UK lenders have decided that they are going to postpone making any house price forecasts for next year in the current climate, even though they have been forecasting house price movement for years. Usually the Halifax and the Nationwide tend to forecast prices for the coming year, but this has all changed following a particularly turbulent year for the housing sector where there are now mixed opinions on what will happen with house prices over the coming year. (more…)
Tags: council of mortgage lenders, house pricesAccording to a recently released report house price falls in the UK are coming at a faster pace than the hour price falls during the crash of the 1990s. November saw the property market go through a sharp and rapid deterioration, with data from the Halifax suggesting that house prices had fallen by over 2.5 percent over the month. This took the annual house price fall for November to over 16 percent based on these Halifax figures, wiping over £30,000 from the value of the average property on an annual basis. (more…)
Tags: house pricesAccording to a recent report the number of mortgage products being offered by lenders across the UK is continuing to fall, with lenders favouring those with higher deposits to put down in the current financial climate, resulting in fewer mortgage products being made available by lenders for those that do not fit into this group. (more…)
Tags: mortgage products, mortgagesA recently released report has shown that mortgage lending in the UK has shrunk yet again, with figures indicating that the level of mortgage approvals is now around 60 percent lower than it was for the same period last year. Mortgage approvals have plummeted over the course of this year with banks too wary to lend money in the current financial climate, and many consumers too wary to apply for a mortgage and buy a property because of the ongoing falls in house prices, which could leave them open to negative equity. (more…)
Tags: mortgagesOver the past year the UK has seen its property prices plummet month on month, with prices now having fallen by far more than many had originally predicted and with further house price falls expected over the coming year by many industry experts. Many sellers have either had to accept lower offers for their properties or have been unable to sell, although the situation for buyers has also been difficult due to the difficulties that many have had in security mortgages despite the decrease in property values. (more…)
Tags: house pricesNationalised lender Northern Rock, which was nationalised earlier this year after becoming one of the first major victims of the global credit crunch in the UK, has been accused of selling off repossessed home at knock down prices in a bid to try and get back as much money as possible as quickly as possible rather than trying to get the best price for the former homeowner. (more…)
Tags: northern rock, repossessed propertyAccording to recent reports the 100% mortgage could be on its way back through a government backed scheme aimed at first time buyers and low income households after being wiped from the shelves earlier this year by worried lenders that did not want to take the risks associated with these mortgages during the ongoing global credit crunch. (more…)
Tags: 100% mortgagesLenders who deal with home loans have been given a fairness deadline, and have been told that they could face hefty fines if they fail to treat customers fairly when it comes to dealing with arrears on home loans. Lenders have been told that they must prove that customers that are in arrears or are facing repossession are being treated fairly and that they have to provide this proof by 31st of January. (more…)
Tags: FSA, mortgagesRecent reports have indicated that despite the base rate cuts that have been applied by the Bank of England over the past few weeks some homeowners may not actually benefit from these reductions, as many lenders have not passed the rate cuts on. The central bank is expected to cut rates further next year, but some feel that many of the major UK banks will ignore the reductions and fail to pass them on. (more…)
Tags: base rateOfficials from the Council of Mortgage Lenders have recently stated that the situation with mortgage lending levels may get worse, stating that whilst mortgage lending has certainly been rationed over the course of this year as a result of the global credit crunch and tighter lending conditions the likelihood was that it would be further restricted over the coming year. (more…)
Tags: council of mortgage lenders, mortgagesRecent figures have shown that rental prices on homes are being driven down as a result of the many homes that remain unsold on the UK’s property market. Property sales have been very low over recent months, and although they have increased slightly over recent weeks due to more realistic pricing from sellers, they did recently reach average lows of as bleak as less than one property sale per week per agent. (more…)
Tags: housing marketFor many years first time buyers have struggled to get onto the property ladder for one reason or another. For a number of years the problem has been the soaring price of property in the UK, but more recently, even thought house prices have been falling, other problems have emerged for first time buyers. This includes far tighter credit conditions, making it difficult for some first time buyers to get finance, and higher deposit requirements from lenders, which decreases affordability for the average first time buyer. (more…)
Tags: first time buyers, council of mortgage lenders, mortgagesAs part of the package of measures that was announced in the recent pre-budget report, homeowners who lost their jobs are set to get extra help from the government to ensure that they do not lose their homes. Previously, the government covered interest payments on mortgages for those that had been out of work for at least thirteen weeks and could not meet repayments. However, this was up to a maximum of a mortgage value of £100,000. (more…)
Tags: mortgage market, housing marketAccording to the results of a recent survey HSBC is the most competitive mortgage provider, having made forty two appearances in a top ten poll of mortgage providers by an online comparison site. The results were up to the end of September of this year, and resulted in the bank being dubbed the most consistently competitive mortgage provider during the third quarter of this year. (more…)
Tags: hsbc, mortgagesOfficials from the Nationwide Building Society have recently stated that the fall in house prices in the UK could continue over the course of 2009 and even into 2010. The building society, which has slashed mortgage lending like many other lenders since the onset of the global credit crunch, has said that the housing market is likely to remain subdued for the foreseeable future, which spells bad news for homeowners, who may lose their equity and even end up in negative equity. (more…)
Tags: nationwode, house prices, bank of england, variable rate mortgages, mortgagesFollowing the recent 1.5% base rate cut, and in response to calls from the Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, a number o major lenders in the UK have said that they will be passing on the full 1.5% rate cut to borrowers over the coming weeks. As hoped by the government this could help to ease the financial situation for many consumers, and could ultimately help to boost the flagging economy, as consumers find themselves with more money to spend in the run up to Christmas. (more…)
Tags: council of mortgage lenders, prime minister, base rate, nationwide, bank of england, gordon brownAccording to recent figures house prices have fallen for yet another consecutive month, and after a fairly small price fall in September figures show that house prices have now fallen by a further 2.2 percent in October. The figure comes from the Halifax, and officials from the lender have said that the October fall has brought the annual house price drop to 13.7 percent. The average house price has now fallen to £168,176 according to the Halifax, which is nearly £30,000 lower than a year ago. (more…)
Tags: Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors, house pricesFigures 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…)
Tags: mortgage lendingAccording 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…)
Tags: commercial mortgagesThe 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…)
Tags: gordon brown, prime minister, base rateA 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…)
Tags: base rate, bank of englandAccording 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…)
Tags: mortgage approvals, mortgagesOver 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…)
Tags: mortgage brokers, dodgy mortgagesRecently 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…)
Tags: house market, repossessionOver 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…)
Tags: house prices, house marketAccording 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…)
Tags: house pricesBetween 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…)
Tags: interest ratesA 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…)
Tags: house pricesAccording 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…)
Tags: interest rates, nationwideIndustry 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…)
Tags: mortgage feesIndustry 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…)
Tags: london property, house marketAs 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…)
Tags: estate agents