Mortgages: Are 100 per cent no deposit loans about to make a comeback? May 9, 2023 One of the UK’s largest building societies is considering launching a no deposit, or 100 per cent loan to value mortgage. Mortgages which do not need a downpayment, or deposit, were phased out after the financial crisis. Although 100 per cent or zero deposit mortgages have been available since 2009, lenders will only offer them [...]
Why you should never, ever bet against UK house prices May 9, 2023 Remember the start of the year? “UK house prices have gone into sharp reverse over recent months. And we expect that elevated mortgage rates will result in at least a 12 per cent price correction,” so said Capital Economics at the time. This is from building society Nationwide last week: “While annual house price growth [...]
Markets: Three things we learned this week May 5, 2023 This week the markets had a lot to digest, bumper energy profits, the tail end of the banking sector’s latest round of results, and a rate rise from the Federal Reserve. There was also some positive house price data, which gave the FTSE 100 a spring in its step. With Coronation weekend looming we take [...]
What lies ahead for London’s property market? May 5, 2023 All eyes remained on London’s housing market this week as a flurry of reports signalled a return to a stable property market in the capital, but analysts have warned that the storm may not be fully weathered yet… As reports by Rightmove showed on Friday morning, first time buyers in the capital continue to be [...]
Mark Kleinman: Vodafone’s CEO call, audit watchdog delays and a wave of insolvencies May 4, 2023 It's the column that gets the Square Mile talking, from the man who talks to everybody - Sky News' Mark Kleinman
London house prices: First-time buyers need household income of nearly £100k to buy May 3, 2023 Londoners’ desire to get on the property ladder has helped fuel the housing market in the capital, despite households now needing an extra £12k in income to be able to afford their own place. Figures released by Zoopla, show that in April house price growth in London rose by 0.5 per cent, as demand and [...]
Explainer: Rishi Sunak eyes a revival of Help to Buy May 2, 2023 Just over a month ago, we were reporting the phasing out of Help to Buy, which was closed to new entrants last year. Now, Rishi Sunak is considering relaunching the policy. Talking of u-turns. The scheme was introduced in 2013 by George Osborne to help first-time buyers get onto the housing ladder. It offered lower [...]
House prices rise for the first time in seven months but analysts still expect a rough ride May 2, 2023 The housing market showed “tentative” signs of recovery in April as the price of homes rose 0.5 per cent during the month, however prices remain four per cent below their August 2022 peak. The Nationwide house price index showed that the annual rate of house price growth improved to -2.7 per cent from -3.1 per [...]
Recession knife-edge: Consumer spending on credit at £1.3bn as house prices continue to slide May 2, 2023 Britain’s better than expected economic performance since the turn of the year is poised to have lured consumers into splashing the cash on their credit cards, new numbers out this week are tipped to show. Families are tipped by markets to have borrowed £1.3bn in March, which would signal spending in the UK is holding [...]
Co-op Bank buoyed by interest rate rises as takeover speculation continues April 28, 2023 The Co-operative Bank has reported a jump in income as the latest lender to be boosted by higher interest rates which have pushed up the cost of borrowing. The company said its net interest income – the difference between what a bank charges for loans and pays for savings – surged by a fifth to [...]