UK house prices are going to keep going up – Standard and Poor’s March 2, 2016 The UK's rapid house price growth will not end anytime soon, a major ratings agency said today. "Conditions for ongoing robust gains of UK residential property prices remain intact," Standard and Poor's said in a new report. Low mortgage rates and record high employment are fuelling demand, the report said. It added that "the search for yields in a [...]
Challenger banks: Moody’s says smaller lenders are poised to compete with Britain’s big banks for a share of the UK mortgage market February 25, 2016 British challenger banks are poised to compete with larger lenders for a share of the mortgage market, Moody’s Investors Service has said. In a new report out today, Moody’s said challengers are likely to use securitisation to compete for a bigger share of the UK mortgage market. “Increasing competition in the mortgage market driven by [...]
Nearly 20 per cent of London households are in debt after paying for essentials February 24, 2016 Nearly one in five London households end up in the red on a monthly basis after paying for essentials, according to new data. Figures from Scottish Friendly also found that after buying essentials such as housing, energy, water, groceries and transport, the average London household has just £934 left per month to save or use [...]
UK house prices: Buy-to-let rush sparks surge in mortgage lending February 11, 2016 Buy-to-let landlords rushing to secure a property before April’s stamp duty hike has driven mortgage lending to its highest level in nine years, according to UK chartered surveyor e.surv. House purchase lending approvals reached 85,432 in January, an increase of 20.6 per cent since December 2015 and the highest number of monthly approvals since October [...]
UK house price growth speeds up in January as buy-to-let stamp duty hike looms February 4, 2016 House price growth sped up in the year to January, new data showed this morning – suggesting buy-to-let investors are trying to sneak in those transactions before new stamp duty rules are introduced in April. The annual figure was up from 9.5 per cent in December and nine per cent in November, according to Halifax's house [...]
UK house prices: Mortgage lending rose unexpectedly in December February 1, 2016 The rush to sneak that house purchase in before interest rates rise continues apace: figures published by the Bank of England this morning showed mortgage lending jumped unexpectedly in December, beating analysts' expectations. Mortgage lending for house purchases rose to 70,837 in December, up from 70,424 in November. That was against analysts' expectations of a modest fall, [...]
EU referendum: Virgin Money chief executive Jayne-Anne Gadhia says Brexit would lead to fewer jobs and less prosperity January 24, 2016 Virgin Money chief executive Jayne-Anne Gadhia became the latest big business boss to wade in the European Union debate over the weekend when she came out in favour of the UK remaining in the EU. Gadhia said that while she "could see benefits of not being subject to all the bureaucracy of Europe", remaining in the EU would [...]
The Big Short interview with director Adam McKay: “Outrage with banks comes naturally… they’re street hustlers” January 22, 2016 The Oscar-nominated director of financial film The Big Short, Adam McKay, wasn't afraid of throwing the cat among the pigeons when I caught up with him yesterday. On the eve of his latest film's release he launched a stinging attack on Wall Street, branding bankers “street hustlers” and labelling the SEC’s response to the crisis “disgusting”. [...]
Mortgage lending hits post-recession high of £220bn in 2015 January 21, 2016 Mortgage lending rose by eight per cent last year compared with the year before, the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) said this morning. Lenders approved £19.9bn of home loans in December, taking the 2015 total to £220.3bn – the highest annual figure since 2008. December's lending figure was slightly down on November, but was 23 per [...]
Fitch Ratings upbeat on UK housing market for 2016 despite slowdown in growth January 13, 2016 Credit ratings agency Fitch predicts house prices will continue to rise in 17 of the word’s 22 leading markets including the UK this year, buoyed by low mortgage rates, GDP growth and improving employment. However the rate of growth is expected to stay the same or drop in most countries as housing affordability becomes even [...]