Scramble to remortgage as interest rates look set to rise from record lows July 29, 2015 The mortgage market is heating up, according to new figures, as rock-bottom rates and the prospect of an interest rate rise fuel extra home buying and remortgaging. Net lending secured on dwellings jumped to £2.6bn in June from £2.4bn in May, the highest figure since July 2008, the Bank of England said yesterday. The number of [...]
Jury sent out to consider verdict in Tom Hayes libor-rigging trial July 29, 2015 The jury has been out to consider the verdict in the trial of former trader Tom Hayes who is accused of attempting to manipulate the Libor rate. The former UBS and Citigroup yen derivatives trader, who is 35, denies eight charges of conspiracy to defraud between August 2006 and September 2010. Prosecutors have branded Hayes "greedy" and [...]
The National Association of Estate Agents: Number of house hunters hits an 11-year high July 29, 2015 The number of people hunting for a new home in Britain hit an 11-year high last month amid a dwindling housing stock and sky-high prices. Figures released today by the The National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) showed around 439 house hunters were registered to each estate agent branch in the UK last month. This [...]
Rate hikes: How can you protect your investments? July 28, 2015 Bonds may be bashed but equities could be winners if the Federal Reserve moves this autumn As the Federal Reserve convenes once again this week to discuss whether interest rates should be raised from their rock-bottom lows, many investors are sounding out the potential implications of a rate hike on their portfolios. Pressure [...]
Buy-to-let enthusiasm can drive new supply if we demolish housing barriers July 28, 2015 It was at the time of another landmark Budget – Nigel Lawson’s in 1988 – that the UK’s rental market as we know it first began to emerge. The Housing Act’s deregulation measures of the same year, notably liberalising rents, set the scene for rapid growth in the private rented sector. This was fuelled by [...]
Rate hikes ahoy or time to batten down the hatches? What eight analysts think of today’s UK GDP figures July 28, 2015 It's official: UK GDP grew 0.7 per cent during the second quarter, meaning the UK has now had 10 consecutive quarters of growth. But is it all good news? And what does it mean for the future of interest rates, which Bank of England governor Mark Carney has strongly hinted will begin to rise "around [...]
Moody’s says homeowners can cope with higher interest rates July 26, 2015 The majority of British homeowners could comfortably cope with a moderate rise in interest rates, Moody’s has said this morning. Only about one per cent of borrowers would be unable to cover mortgage payments and meet their living expenses if interest rates rose by one per cent from their historic low of 0.5 per cent, [...]
Housing market starting to “hot up” as mortgage approvals soar to a 15-month high July 24, 2015 The housing market is beginning to heat up again as mortgage approvals rose for the sixth consecutive month in June, taking them to a 15-month high. Figures released today by the British Bankers Association showed the number of mortgage approvals rose to 44,488 last month, from 42,876 in May. Remortgaging rose 20 per cent in the [...]
Interest rate rise by the Bank of England is the “greatest risk” to house prices July 24, 2015 House price growth for this year is on track to hit double-digit figures in a number of cities across Britain – providing the Bank of England doesn't hike interest rates anytime soon. House prices in the 20 cities monitored by Hometrack's cities house price index rose 6.3 per cent in the first half of 2015, and look set [...]
Bashing buy-to-let landlords will push up rents and hit the UK economy hard July 23, 2015 Buy-to-let landlords have a huge advantage in the market as they can offset their mortgage interest payments against their income, whereas homebuyers cannot.” That’s how the chancellor explained his decision in the Budget to require that landlords, unlike other businesses, effectively pay tax on their borrowings – their buy-to-let mortgage. But the chancellor has made [...]