First time buyer market may ease July 14, 2011 WITH the Bank of England keeping interest rates at the record low of 0.5 per cent, the outlook should be good for those looking to buy a home. But with renting in London costing 50 per cent more than the rest of the country and banks requiring higher and higher deposits, the picture for those [...]
House market stuck in a rut July 11, 2011 WEAK supply and demand has left the UK housing market in a “stalemate” despite a pick-up in mortgage lending, new data suggests. Demand failed to rise in June while the recent growth in new instructions to market properties ground to a halt, according to the latest survey from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS). [...]
House prices rise in June July 6, 2011 House prices rose 1.2 per cent in June, their biggest month-on-month rise since October, mortgage lender Halifax said. That confounded analysts’ expectations for an unchanged reading and left prices 3.5 per cent lower in the three months to June compared with a year ago. “Low interest rates, an increase in the number of people in [...]
BofA investors plot challenge over pay out July 5, 2011 A GROUP of bondholders in Bank of America plan to challenge the lender’s $8.5bn (£5.2bn) settlement with holders in soured mortgage-backed securities. Eleven companies, known together as Walnut Place, filed papers in the New York Supreme Court in a bid to overturn the payment. They say they have “serious concerns about the secret, non-adversarial, and [...]
Paragon eyes Northern Rock July 3, 2011 MORTGAGE lender Paragon has emerged as a surprise contender to buy Northern Rock. It is understood Paragon has requested documentation relating to the sale with a view to making an offer. The sale is expected to return around £1bn of the £1.4bn invested in the failed institution by the taxpayer. Paragon joins Coventry building society, [...]
Banks expect more defaults on mortgages June 30, 2011 DOWNBEAT mortgage lenders fear that defaults on payments could rise again in the coming months, a Bank of England survey revealed yesterday. Despite a “broadly unchanged” number of defaults in the second quarter of this year, losses made on defaults rose for the third quarter in a row – and “lenders expected the default rate [...]
House prices flat in June June 30, 2011 House prices in England and Wales held steady in June, and this trend of broadly static prices is likely to continue for the rest of the year, mortgage lender Nationwide said. Nationwide’s June house price index showed no change on the month, compared to a 0.3 per cent rise in May, and was 1.1 percent [...]
Bank of America to pay $20bn in charges June 29, 2011 Bank of America Corp said it expected to take more than $20bn (£12bn) in charges after settling with mortgage bond investors, resulting in a second-quarter loss. The $8.5 billion settlement removed a question mark that had been hovering over the bank since October, and its shares rallied. The deal, combined with other settlement-related charges, was [...]
STRICTLY BUSINESS BRIEF ENDS VINCE CABLE’S DANCING DREAM June 28, 2011 THERE is something bothering business secretary Vince Cable – and it’s not the separation of retail and investment banking, the Greek debt crisis or even waging war on Rupert Murdoch. No – Cable is concerned his demanding day job could mean he never fulfils his dream of returning to Strictly Come Dancing for a full [...]
House prices dip 0.4pc in May June 28, 2011 House prices in England and Wales fell by 0.4 per cent in May, data from the official Land Registry showed. Average residential property prices were 2.2 per cent lower than a year ago at £161,823, the Land Registry said. The only region in England and Wales to buck the downward trend was London which saw [...]