London’s house prices fall 2.3pc over six months February 17, 2015 LONDON’S house price boom ground to a halt at the end of 2014, official figures showed yesterday, while prices across the rest of the country continued to rise modestly. The average British property in December cost £272,000, up 0.7 per cent on the month and 9.8 per cent on the year. By contrast, London homes [...]
Mortgage lending eases off as buyers’ frenzy draws to a close February 17, 2015 The boom in mortgage lending over 2013 and 2014 came to an end by the final months of last year, industry data showed yesterday. Last year saw a total of 676,900 home-owner purchase loans, up 11 per cent on the year and the highest number since 2007. By value, they amounted to £112.7bn, a rise [...]
In charts: London house prices are now 2.3 per cent below their peak February 17, 2015 London house price growth is slowing along with the UK’s, according to new data. In December, prices in the capital were 2.3 per cent below their August peak, with the rate of growth slowing from 15.3 per cent to 13.3 per cent. Back in May, London prices were on an annual growth roll of 20.1 [...]
First-time home buyers should get a mortgage rather than rent, says Halifax February 15, 2015 Record low mortgage rates are contributing to a market where it is cheaper for first-time buyers to buy rather than rent. The average monthly cost associated with a first-time buyer buying a three bedroom house was £658 in December, according to figures released by mortgage lender Halifax at the weekend. It compares to an average [...]
Bank of England’s Mark Carney: Interest rate cut is possible as UK heads toward deflation February 12, 2015 Bank of England governor Mark Carney revealed yesterday that interest rates could drop even further below their historic low of 0.5 per cent, as the collapse in global oil prices drags Britain towards deflation. In a mandatory letter to chancellor George Osborne, Carney said that if “global activity continues to disappoint, or if low inflation [...]
House prices climb over winter February 5, 2015 THE HOUSING market boom that saw price growth peak at 10.2 per cent year-on-year in July may not be over, according to one of the UK’s biggest mortgage lenders. House prices jumped two per cent in January – the biggest monthly increase since 2009, figures released yesterday by Halifax show. The average house price in the [...]
Tight mortgage rules squeeze the old and the self-employed February 5, 2015 MORTGAGE brokers are increasingly struggling to find loans for home buyers with unusual requirements, thanks to tougher rules on lending quality, the Intermediary Mortgage Lenders Association (IMLA) warned today. Three-quarters of brokers said lenders are “too conservative” on mortgage criteria. The survey found 84 per cent of brokers have been unable to help a customer in [...]
LendInvest IPO: P2P mortgage firm hoping to be City’s first public crowdfunding site February 2, 2015 Peer-to-peer (P2P) mortgage firm LendInvest is hoping to be the first crowdfunding business to list on the London Stock Exchange with plans afoot for its debut in the next 12 months. The group’s chief executive Christian Faes told City A.M. that while the business has yet to appoint bankers to work on it, he said [...]
HSBC offers cheapest fixed-rate mortgage as rates dip closer to 1pc February 1, 2015 HSBC is set to introduce the cheapest fixed-rate mortgage on the market today as intense competition continues to push down interest rates. The bank’s two-year fixed-rate mortgage will have an interest rate of 1.19 per cent. However, it comes with a £1,499 fee. “Mortgage lenders are in a race to the bottom [with regard to [...]
Do new figures tell us the financial future of the UK? January 30, 2015 As average citizens, it has become rather hard to ascertain whether we should be positive about the future of the British economy or not. One morning we turn on the news or pick up the paper to see reports of an upturn in fortunes, only for this to be quashed just days later with stories [...]