The mortgage market is helping to fuel a new credit boom March 31, 2016 Lending in the UK is recovering strongly. The annual growth rate of total lending hit 4.8 per cent in February, according to figures released by the Bank of England this morning. It is the highest growth rate since 2009 when lending was plummeting. Here's what is helping to drive it: Mortgage lending Borrowing is bouncing back in [...]
Bank of England poised to announce new measures to clamp down on the buy-to-let market March 28, 2016 The Bank of England appears poised to introduce new rules to clamp down on the buy-to-let property market amid fears that the sector poses big risks to the UK economy. Chancellor George Osborne told MPs last week that it is “highly likely” that he will give the Bank’s Financial Policy Committee (FPC) powers over the buy-to-let [...]
House prices: Mortgage lending jumps in February as landlords make last sprint ahead of April stamp duty hike March 11, 2016 The rush to beat April's stamp duty surcharge on second homes continued to fuel record high levels of lending in February. House purchase approvals reached 72,799 in February, up 17.4 per cent on the same month last year and the second highest monthly figure since January 2014, according to figures released today by UK chartered surveyor e.surv. This was [...]
Travis Perkins’ share price pushed higher despite a disappointing summer and an impairment charge over its plumbing business March 3, 2016 Building material supplier Travis Perkins has posted a 7.6 per cent rise in core profits and forecast a better year than last in 2016, after warning earnings would be at the lower end of expectations in October. Pre-tax profits in 2015 were down 30 per cent to £224m, negatively impacted by a £141m impairment charge to its plumbing business due to “challenging market conditions”. [...]
Now Halifax says UK house prices dropped last month – but rose almost 10 per cent in the year to February March 3, 2016 It was a day of two house price indices today, and while Nationwide was insistent that house price growth was flat between January and February, figures from Halifax have shown prices fell by1.4 per cent. But Halifax's house price index, released today, also showed prices rose 9.7 per cent from last February – and were up [...]
Surge in mortgage approvals has no impact on house prices ahead of stamp duty surcharge – but the proportion of people renting rises again March 3, 2016 The impending stamp duty surcharge is distorting the housing market, with a "sharp" increase in the number of mortgage approvals in the first month of the year – the highest number since January 2014. But despite this, there has been just a slight uptick in house price growth, according to Nationwide, up 0.3 per cent in February [...]
House purchase approvals hit two-year high as buy to let investors rush to beat April’s stamp duty change February 29, 2016 Mortgage lending picked up in January as buy to let investors rush to buy properties before a hike in stamp duty in April. Net mortgage lending rose to £3.7bn in January from £3.2bn in December, according to figures published by the Bank of England this morning. There were 128,709 mortgages approved. Approvals for house purchase, as opposed to [...]
Help to buy could be worsening London’s housing crisis and driving young people out of the capital February 25, 2016 Are you tired of London? Want to move to a quieter, cheaper part of the country? If so, you’re not alone – every year, thousands of people quit the city in search of a more tranquil existence. However, they tend to be replaced by a new wave of incoming urbanites, typically young people attracted by London’s [...]
House prices to climb further as mortgage lending hits highest level since 2008 in January February 24, 2016 Mortgage lending spiked in January, raising concerns that UK house prices could rise even faster. Borrowing topped £13.6bn, 38 per cent higher than the same month last year and the highest since mid-2008, figures released this morning by the British Bankers' Association (BBA) show. The number of mortgage approvals was up 38 per cent on the year. [...]
Barratt Developments share price rises as profits jump 40 per cent, boosted by government housebuilding initiatives February 24, 2016 Another day, another stellar performance by a housebuilder: Barratt said revenues rose by a fifth last year, thanks to rocketing house prices. The figures Revenues rose 19 per cent to £1.87bn in the six months to the end of December, up from £1.58bn the year before. That pushed pre-tax profits up 40.3 per cent to £295m. Completions rose 9.4 per cent to 7,626, while average selling price increased 10.9 per cent to £254,200 – [...]