UK housing sales on track to sink to lowest level since 2012 August 30, 2023 The number of housing sales completed over 2023 is on track to sink to its lowest level since 2012, when Britain was still reeling from the financial crash, as higher borrowing costs continue to decimate the market. Sales are also set to be 21 per cent down on last year, according to new data from [...]
Mortgage lending falls by a third as borrowers avoid bank switch stress tests August 29, 2023 Increasing pressure on the housing market drove down activity in mortgage lending and led to changes in the market, new data out today shows. According to UK Finance data, lending for house purchases in the second quarter stood around 30 per cent lower than the same period last year. The industry body said this stemmed [...]
Homes more affordable but borrowers stretched by rising mortgage costs August 23, 2023 The cost of a typical house is 6.7 times average earnings in Britain despite the recent slowdown in the property market, according to new figures. Mortgage lender Halifax said this is down from a record high of 7.3 times average earnings last summer, when a UK home cost an average £293,586 and the average annual [...]
Trade bodies warn Bank of England economic data ignores small business fears August 22, 2023 The proportion of businesses that will struggle to pay back debts due to rising interest rates could increase to the highest level since the financial crisis, the Bank of England has warned. In a blog post published today, the central bank said the proportion of firms that are seeing debt-servicing distress is projected to increase [...]
House prices: Five things we’ve learnt from the latest data (and why we might still be set for a crash) August 21, 2023 House prices might not crash - but neither renters nor homeowners have all that much to cheer as we head into September
House prices: August sees biggest fall since 2018 as signs of crash mount August 21, 2023 The average price of a home fell by 1.9 per cent in August, the biggest dip for the month since 2018, following a season of surging mortgage rates which led sellers to slash the prices of their homes in order to secure a sale. During the tail end of the summer the cost of a [...]
Want a lower interest rate on your mortgage? Make it green and retrofit your home August 18, 2023 Retrofitting our homes and making them energy efficient is the big housing challenge of the future. New ways of financing it are emerging, like green mortgages, writes Emma Harvey-Smith
House prices rise 1.7 per cent – but Brits advised they will keep coming down August 16, 2023 Average UK house prices increased by 1.7 per cent in the 12 months to June down from a revised 1.8 per cent in May 2023, but property experts are warning this won’t continue for long. New figures from the Office for National Statistics show the cost of a home in the UK is £5,000 more [...]
FCA: One in 10 interest-only mortgage holders may be ‘overly optimistic’ on debt August 15, 2023 One in 10 interest-only mortgage holders might be “overly optimistic” about paying off their debt when the time comes, the City watchdog has suggested.
Santander becomes latest bank to cut mortgage rates amid falling inflation August 14, 2023 Santander has become the latest high street lender to reduce the rates of its mortgage deals, following a stream of other cuts by fellow banks last week, in a signal of hope for prospective buyers. On Monday, the bank cut its selected residential purchase and remortgage fixed rates by between 0.05 per cent and 0.29 [...]