First-time buyers fuel rise in mortgage lending in September November 11, 2015 Mortgage lending rose year-on-year in September, new data shows, driven by a jump in first time buyers taking out new loans. The month saw 28,600 first-time buyers take out mortgages, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML), which was up four per cent on the previous month and by 8.7 per cent year-on-year. By value, [...]
The government’s Help to Buy scheme almost doubles number of high loan-to-value mortgages with five per cent deposits for first-time buyers November 10, 2015 The government's Help to Buy mortgage guarantee scheme has almost doubled the number of high loan-to-value mortgages, for buyers who only have a five per cent deposit. The number of 95 per cent loan-to-value mortgages (LTV) issued, for buyers who need to borrow 95 per cent of property's value for a mortgage, increased by nearly [...]
Shared ownership’s time has come so here’s six ideas to help home buyers in the high cost capital November 9, 2015 There is an iconic image of the Patterson family stood outside their house with Margaret Thatcher. The first people to purchase their home under Right to Buy in 1980, Thatcher delivered the deeds herself. Right to Buy is back in the news, with the government striking an agreement to extend the scheme to housing [...]
Equities may not survive aggressive dollar – eToro Tips & Picks November 9, 2015 There is only one place to start this week, and that’s the jobs report. Given all the attention on last week’s stellar non-farm payroll report, however, many have overlooked the average earnings reading, despite it being far more important at this point in time. It now looks likely that Janet Yellen will increase interest [...]
London house prices: Queues around the block as 215 flats at bargain basement prices at Trinity Square in Hounslow sell out in three hours, netting £60m of sales November 6, 2015 Yet another sign of the hysteria surrounding London's housing market: 215 flats at a residential development in Hounslow sold out in just three hours on Thursday night, as hundreds of people clamoured to get their hands on one of the homes. Developer Galliard said it made sales of £20m per hour between 5pm and 8pm [...]
First-time buyers need £50k per year to get on the property ladder – GoCompare November 5, 2015 The average UK salary of £22,000 is less than half the average needed to get on the property ladder, research from comparison website GoCompare has found. On average a minimum household income of £50,000 is required, with a 90 per cent mortgage. Unsurprisingly, London was found to be the most unaffordable, with household incomes of [...]
Night Tube series: Top seven places to buy along the Central Line November 2, 2015 Deep down in the bowels of London, there lies the Central Line, perhaps the hottest, noisiest and most crowded of all Tube Lines. It’s also one of the quickest lines meaning it’s useful for commuters coming in from the far flung suburbs of east and west London. But for investors and first-time buyers, it’s the [...]
Focus On Acton: Ealing’s up-and-coming neighbour in London’s property market November 2, 2015 For years, Acton has been seen as the poor relation of more affluent or trendy neighbours like Chiswick or Ealing. But it’s a place of mixed perceptions that’s only going to go up in the world. The name comes from the old English for “oak farm”, alluding to the time it was a rural part [...]
UK’s rising population will support the housing market, says Moody’s November 2, 2015 The UK and Ireland’s expanding population combined with both countries’ housing supply shortage and “robust” economic growth will support demand and property prices, Moody’s Investors Service has said this morning. Moody's research comes amid warnings from UBS economists last week that London's property market is on the verge of bubble that could pop soon after [...]
Horrifying house prices (and other scare stories) – here’s what got us talking this week October 30, 2015 It was a week in which we discovered that two teenagers were suspects in the TalkTalk hack (but that "significantly" fewer people were affected. We learned that all MPs earn a lot more than their constituents. And we discovered that the UK's population is growing much quicker than previously thought. Here's what got us talking this week [...]