Decline in homeownership is the result of bonkers red tape December 11, 2012 AS ever, the census is chock-a-block with fascinating statistics, including about the major demographic shifts that this country is undergoing. London has become a European version of New York, a cosmopolitan, global melting pot. It also reveals a number of worrying trends. Just 64 per cent (14.9m) of households owned their own home in 2011, [...]
Rapid responses December 11, 2012 The payday debate [Re: The poorest will suffer if we ignore the real evidence on payday loans, yesterday] This is the first honest, data-driven response to the payday loan industry debate I’ve seen. Unfortunately, screaming headlines about sky-high interest rates and vulnerable borrowers have led some to ignore the sad truth that many are far [...]
Houses prices set to remain flat during 2013 December 6, 2012 HOUSE prices are set to remain flat in 2013, Halifax bank said yesterday, as weak economic growth and pressure on household finances continues to constrain demand. It also announced that the price of an average UK home rose by one per cent month-on-month to £160,879 in November. “We expect continuing broad stability in house prices nationally [...]
Paragon eyes bank licence to boost lending December 3, 2012 MORTGAGE provider Paragon, a buy-to-let specialist, has confirmed it is talks to buy Hampshire Trust, a private bank offering, in a bid at gaining a retail banking licence. Paragon yesterday said it was in exclusive talks to buy the business, which offers funding to property developers and solicitors, from the National Counties Building Society. The [...]
Interest rates inch down in third month of Funding for Lending November 29, 2012 INTEREST rates on new secured loans edged down in October, the third month since the Funding for Lending Scheme (FLS) began, data revealed yesterday, but rates on unsecured loans rose. The average interest rate on new secured loans edged down from 3.77 per cent to 3.74 per cent last month, the Bank of England said. [...]
Highest number of first time buyers in London since 2009 November 26, 2012 TEN thousand first-time buyers took out a mortgage in London during the third quarter of the year, according to Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) data out yesterday. The figure was the highest on the CML’s records since the fourth quarter of 2009, yet its research also revealed significant barriers to getting on the property ladder [...]
Why Britain’s housing market has escaped the disasters of the 1990s November 22, 2012 DESPITE economic woes, the British housing market is holding up reasonably well. According to the Office for National Statistics, house prices in September were 1.7 per cent higher than a year earlier in nominal terms, and only 2.5 per cent down on their 2008 peak. Of course, there are qualifications. Higher prices are mainly confined [...]
Banks are pressing the BBA to consider a trade group merger November 20, 2012 SEVERAL UK banks want their trade association to consider merging with other industry groups as part of a radical re-think of the British Bankers’ Association’s (BBA) structure and finances. The BBA used to be able to charge for the use of Libor data, but the association has lost that multi-million pound revenue stream since the [...]
Paragon profits soar as bigger lenders cut back on buy-to-let November 20, 2012 MORTGAGE firm Paragon increased profits by 22.5 per cent in the last 12 months, according to full-year results published yesterday. The specialist buy-to-let and consumer finance group reported record pre-tax profit of £95.5m, up from £80.8m in the previous year. Paragon benefited from bigger lenders cutting back credit, allowing it to expand. The results allowed [...]
Mortgage loans see Funding for Lending boost November 20, 2012 MORTGAGE lending climbed to an 11-month high in October, according to data out yesterday, as the Funding for Lending Scheme (FLS) entered its third full month of activity. Gross mortgage loans hit £12.9bn in October, data from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) showed, up 13.3 per cent on September, and up 4.2 per cent [...]