Lenders need to ‘step up’ to support customers, says FCA chief FCA The City watchdog said that lenders need to “step up” to support their customers today as they are battered by soaring mortgage rates and rising prices this year.
Mortgage mayhem: Homeowners forced to sell up at discount prices as rates soar Mortgage mayhem Red hot mortgage rates are leading to sellers accepting lower prices for their properties, fresh data shows, creating further pain for the housing sector. As the market continues to grapple with the Bank of England’s recent 0.5 per cent interest rate hike, figures by estate agent Zoopla show that 42 per cent of sellers are [...]
Natwest’s profits soar as high interest rates boost bank’s mortgage business Natwest Natwest today said its profits had almost doubled since the previous quarter, despite inflation, the cost-of-living crisis, and the war in Ukraine. The bank said it had generated £841m in profits in the first quarter of 2022, up 93.8 per cent compared to the £434m in profits Natwest posted in Q4 2021. The first quarter [...]
London sees 24 per cent drop in first-time buyers as high mortgage rates bite September 27, 2023 London experienced a 24 per cent decline in the number of first-time buyers entering the market in the last year as high mortgage rates crush home-ownership dreams.
Value of London homes sinks as red hot mortgage rates continue to rattle market July 6, 2023 Some 68 per cent of west London homeowners have seen the value of their property decrease since last November, new data shows, as soaring mortgage rates and a difficult buyer market rattle the capital’s housing sector. As buyer confidence falls due to red hot mortgage rates 7,000 homes across west central London decreased in value [...]
Homes more affordable but borrowers stretched by rising mortgage costs August 23, 2023 The cost of a typical house is 6.7 times average earnings in Britain despite the recent slowdown in the property market, according to new figures. Mortgage lender Halifax said this is down from a record high of 7.3 times average earnings last summer, when a UK home cost an average £293,586 and the average annual [...]
Marshalls to cut 250 jobs as housebuilding slump takes toll July 31, 2023 Building products supplier Marshalls is axing around another 250 jobs and closing a factory in Scotland after sales dived due to a housing market slowdown. The group said the cuts come as part of plans to save £9 million a year, which will see it shut a factory in Carluke in South Lanarkshire, while also [...]
Bellway: How a spring uplift in the property market is giving housebuilder cause for optimism March 28, 2023 Bellway has said homebuyer demand has started to improve after seeing reservations plunge by nearly 50 per cent due to soaring mortgage rates. The housebuilder group, whose headquarters are in Newcastle, reported underlying pre-tax profits falling 4.6 per cent to £312.1 million for the six months to January 31. It delivered record revenues, up 1.6 [...]
Barratt Developments share price in focus following Bank of England rate rise July 10, 2023 The market will turn its focus to Barratt Developments’ trading update next Thursday to see how soaring mortgage rates and a tumultuous period for the property sector is impacting UK house building companies. The housebuilder’s shares have fallen by around a tenth over the past 12 months and more than half from their pre-pandemic levels, [...]
Truss and Kwarteng mini-budget to ‘deepen’ UK recession October 4, 2022 Liz Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng’s decision to slash taxes and ramp up borrowing without costing their plans will make the looming UK recession worse, City economists predicted today. Soaring mortgage rates driven by lenders passing on higher market yields pushed up by a lack of confidence in prime minister Liz Truss and chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng’s [...]