UK house prices near record high for new homes on market June 17, 2019 UK house prices for newly-marketed properties neared a record high this month, spurred on by a cluster of UK regions shrugging off recent political uncertainty. Read more: UK house prices grow at fastest rate for two years Four northern regions witnessed their highest ever asking prices in June, pushing property prices nationally up 0.3 per [...]
Second home ownership soars towards the value of £1 trillion June 15, 2019 The number of British people owning a second home has soared by more than 50 per cent since 2001 as the value of additional property wealth nears £1 trillion, according to a new report. Research from think tank the Resolution Foundation revealed that 5.5 million people – around one in ten of the UK population [...]
City watchdog launches crackdown on ‘buy now pay later’ deals June 12, 2019 The City watchdog has launched a crackdown on ‘buy now pay later’ deals in a bid to save consumers up to £60m a year. The Financial Conduct Authority has announced plans to ban retailers from charging backdated interest rates on loans repaid during the offer period. Read more: Financial Conduct Authority issues warning to high [...]
UK house prices grow at fastest rate for two years despite uncertainty June 7, 2019 UK house prices grew at their fastest rate for two years in May with an increase of 5.2 per cent year on year, according to new data released today. The value of the average UK home rose by 0.5 per cent from April to £237,837 last month, the Halifax House Price Index revealed, increasing by [...]
Libor isn’t dead yet, even if the banks and traders would like to bury it June 6, 2019 The London Interbank Offered Rate (Libor) was once arguably the most important number in the world. It was the reference rate that banks used for variable rate mortgages, car loans, credit card debt, and much more besides. It was defined as the interest rate at which banks would lend to each other. Global banks reported [...]
Mortgage approvals rebound after delay on Brexit deadline May 31, 2019 Mortgage approvals for house purchases hit a three-month high in April, rebounding after Britain's March deadline for Brexit was postponed. The number of residential mortgages approved in April ticked up to roughly 66,300, nearing a two-year average and bouncing back from a fall in March, according to new data released this morning by the Bank [...]
Deutsche Bank enters Britain’s mortgage market, launching regulated product May 29, 2019 Deutsche Bank Wealth Management has announced it will offer regulated mortgages to its private banking clients in Britain. Clients looking to buy houses in the UK and borrow £3m or more at competitive loan-to-value and interest rates will be able to use the product. The wealth manager will roll it out to clients who want [...]
UK banks: What to make of Lloyds, RBS and Barclays? May 29, 2019 By Graeme Evans from interactive investor. Having underperformed since April's stock market peak, here's what to expect from the domestic lenders. With UK banks making heavy weather of Q1 results and the Brexit shackles still in place, there's a clear lack of momentum behind shares of Lloyds Banking Group (LSE:LLOY), Barclays (LSE:BARC) and The Royal [...]
Coping with our confusing and expensive childcare system May 29, 2019 Childcare is notoriously expensive in the UK. For UK parents with two children, around 46 per cent of household income goes towards childcare – the highest of all OECD countries – while prices have risen three per cent in the past year, according to the UK’s Childcare Survey 2019. “With the cost of full-time childcare [...]
UK mortgage approvals hit two-year high following Brexit extension May 28, 2019 The number of mortgage approvals for house purchases in the UK reached a two-year high in April, a survey showed today, suggesting the country’s housing market may be recovering from a recent slowdown. Read more: Mortgage approvals fall as lending to businesses also drops UK banks approved 42,989 mortgages in April, the highest figure since [...]