Home owners paying lowest mortgage interest in years January 14, 2010 BARRATT Developments, the housebuilder, yesterday said recent bad weather had led to a flurry of online enquiries as it reported stronger first-half trading, adding to hopes the worst is over for the sector. Chief executive Mark Clare said online enquiries more than doubled in recent weeks as a countrywide cold snap forced many people to [...]
Barclays wins Dubai foreclosure January 11, 2010 Barclays won Dubai’s first foreclosure cases yesterday, clearing the way for lenders holding $16bn (£10bn) of Dubai home loans to take action when borrowers don’t pay. Islamic lender Tamweel PJSC, the emirate’s biggest mortgage bank, estimates about three per cent of its mortgages are in default. Dubai’s property market recently turned sour after heating up [...]
House prices continue to strengthen in December January 7, 2010 HOUSE prices in the UK recorded their sixth consecutive monthly rise in December, data from the Halifax showed yesterday, though the mortgage lender expects prices to plateau over the rest of 2010. Prices rallied one per cent between November and December, bringing the cost of the average UK home to £169,042. December also saw house [...]
GMAC set to post $5bn loss January 6, 2010 BORROWERS unable to pay home loans have left car and home finance company GMAC Financial Services facing a fourth quarter loss of about $5bn (£3.12bn). GMAC, which has 15m customers worldwide, said yesterday the expected deficit would be due largely to charges related to its bid to write down or sell risky mortgage assets. The [...]
Bank buyers circle as Rock splits off unit January 4, 2010 THE race to snap up the good assets of Northern Rock heated up yesterday, with Virgin Money and National Australia Bank (NAB) emerging as the frontrunners. Clydesdale and Yorkshire Bank owner NAB is understood to have held meetings with potential advisers including Lazard, Citigroup, Credit Suisse and Morgan Stanley ahead of a potential bid for [...]
Rate of repossessions rises as housing recovery slows December 15, 2009 ALMOST 14,000 Britons lost their homes in the third quarter of 2009 as mortgage lenders increased the rate of repossessions, the Financial Services Authority (FSA) revealed yesterday. Repossessions rose 2.8 per cent on the same period of 2008, but the FSA pointed out that the 13,987 properties taken back by lenders was five per cent [...]
Buy-to-let is back as rents stabilise and low prices attract landlords December 3, 2009 BUY-TO-LET is starting to look like an attractive proposition once again, as lower house prices and a stabilising rental market result in more enticing yields. Data from LSL Property Services – the company that owns Your Move and Reeds Rains estate agencies – shows that annual returns on landlords’ investments have turned positive for the [...]
WAR ON BANKS AFTER BONUS ROW EXPLODES December 3, 2009 POLITICIANS rounded on bankers yesterday amid fears a windfall tax on bank profits is on the cards for the pre-budget report next week. The concerns came as a report from the National Audit Office (NAO), released today, revealed for the first time that the government has spent £117bn bailing out the banks. Lord Myners, the [...]
Bank reports a rise in home loan approvals November 30, 2009 HOME loan approvals rose in October to a 19-month high as the housing market showed signs of recovery. Banks approved 57,345 mortgages in October against 56,205 in September, the highest since March 2008 and the 11th monthly rise in a row, the Bank of England said. Net mortgage lending rose by £922m in October versus [...]
Tougher mortgage rules on the cards November 25, 2009 THE TREASURY has unveiled plans for tougher regulation of the mortgage market to better protect borrowers. Under the proposals, the scope of the Financial Services Authority (FSA) would be extended to include buy-to-let and second-charge mortgages. And borrowers would be protected when lenders sell on mortgage books to third parties. Sarah McCarthy-Fry, Exchequer Secretary said, [...]