Should we be worried about the rise of the Bank of Mum and Dad mortgage? January 30, 2019 In the years leading up to the financial crisis, it was relatively easy for wannabe homeowners to get loans for the full value of a property – otherwise known as a 100 per cent loan-to-value mortgage. Of course, we know the problems caused by these mammoth loans, and since then, affordability criteria have become stricter [...]
London house prices dip over 2018 January 30, 2019 London house prices dipped in 2018, with uncertainty looming large over the capital in spite of double-digit growth across many of the UK’s other major cities. Property prices in London tumbled 0.2 per cent last year, according to new data which underlines fears of a slowdown in activity across parts of the capital’s housing market [...]
Lloyds unveils family mortgage offer to help millennials buy a home January 28, 2019 Llloyds Bank will allow first-time buyers to avoid saving for a deposit by allowing parent’s savings to be used in its place. The Lend a Hand mortgage, which is 100 per cent loan-to-value, launched today removes the need for a deposit which is instead provided using the savings of the buyer's family member who can [...]
UK household debt not at unsustainable levels, says Bank of England deputy governor Ben Broadbent January 23, 2019 Bank of England deputy governor for monetary policy Ben Broadbent said household debt in the UK has not hit unsustainable levels. Rapid debt growth is a better predictor of potential financial distress than debt levels, he said, and argued that British household debt has not grown at a worrying rate. Traditional unsecured debt, including credit card [...]
UK households downbeat over finances despite slowing growth in living costs January 21, 2019 Living costs have risen at the slowest rate in three years this month, however UK households remained downbeat due to concerns over job security, lower cash availability and pessimism over the UK housing market. The Household Finance Index, which measures household's perceptions of financial wellbeing, increased in January to a three-month high of 44.8 but [...]
29 reasons not to invest in the stock market January 21, 2019 Wars, disasters, economic strife and political instability have been persistent themes over the last three decades and they can affect people’s attitude towards investing. In many cases they make an already tough decision to part with your money and invest even harder, leading some to not invest at all. Behavioural scientists have a name for [...]
Opinion: Property raffles are 500 times easier to win than the EuroMillions but they’re not going to go mainstream until they’re transparent January 18, 2019 Property raffles have certainly generated national media column inches over the past few years. There has been a huge buzz around the concept and it’s easy to see why – the thought of owning a multi-million pound home for the small cost of a ticket could turn an ordinary person struggling to get a foot [...]
Focus On Peckham: The ‘hipster capital of south London’ saw impressive house price growth last year January 18, 2019 They say that if you want to spot the next up-and-coming property hotspot, all you have to do is follow the artists. That’s certainly been true of Shoreditch, the hub of the Young British Artists movement in the 1990s. Anyone that bought on the outskirts of the City 20 years ago is chuckling all the [...]
November rise in first-time buyers getting on the housing ladder January 17, 2019 First-Time buyers bolstered the UK mortgage market in November, as competitive deals and schemes such as Help to Buy boosted the number of young homeowners in the run-up to Christmas. There were 36,200 new first-time buyer mortgages completed in November, rising 5.8 per cent from the same month in the previous year, according to UK [...]
Bovis shrugs off Brexit concerns as it eyes full-year profits ahead of expectations January 16, 2019 Housebuilder Bovis today said it expects profits to beat market consensus thanks to an increase in new homes and a wider margin. The number of new homes delivered rose three per cent on last year to 3,759, which the company said was in line with expectations. Read more: Persimmon boss picked pub for first big purchase [...]