UK’s debt burden is falling – but the crisis is merely postponed April 3, 2014 BRITAIN’S debt burden is falling. Yes, you’ve read that right: the UK is finally deleveraging. But there is a catch: debt hasn’t fallen enough even though we are already nearing the end of the deleveraging cycle. Over the next few years, we are likely to go on another borrowing binge. The end result could be [...]
Homeowners’ equity injections into housing market near sixth year April 3, 2014 Homeowners injected £10.6bn of equity into the housing market in the final quarter of 2013, as very low savings interest rates continue to make it easier for people to pay down their mortgages. The figures from the Bank of England show the quarter to be the 23rd successive net housing equity injection, but the figure [...]
Economists tell Carney to hike interest rates in 2014 April 2, 2014 THE BRITISH economy is in danger of overheating if interest rates are not increased this year, which could lead to a new boom and bust cycle, economists warned yesterday. The UK’s rapid recovery has pushed down unemployment so rapidly that there is little spare capacity left, according to Legal and General’s James Carrick. If nothing [...]
Shock February drop in lending for mortgages March 31, 2014 MORTGAGE lending dipped during February, according to surprising official figures from the Bank of Lending, marking the first monthly drop in a year. There were 70,309 mortgages approved by financial institutions in February, down by more than 6,000 from January’s figure, which was the highest in six years, going back to the onset of the [...]
London property sellers bag 99pc of the asking price March 31, 2014 House prices have risen for the 14th consecutive month, with a 0.6 per cent rise in March, according to the monthly national housing survey conducted by residential property analysts Hometrack. 50 per cent of postcode districts reported an increase in prices. The survey also showed that those who are selling property in London were able [...]
Buyers struggle to raise deposit as market soars March 31, 2014 HOUSE buyers across England and Wales are paying the highest proportion of their property’s asking price since 2004, with the average house going for more than 99 per cent of the asking price in London. In March so far, buyers are shelling out 96.2 per cent of property asking prices, according to Hometrack’s assessment of [...]
Carney ready to clamp down on housing bubble March 28, 2014 TOUGHER lending criteria could be in place as soon as June if a housing bubble emerges, the Bank of England’s financial policy committee (FPC) said yesterday. The panel, led by Mark Carney, does not believe a bubble is inflating, but wants to reassure markets it will nip any emerging risks in the bud. From next [...]
Aldermore enters securitisation market in £330m mortgage deal March 25, 2014 CHALLENGER bank Aldermore is selling off £330m of prime residential mortgages in its first ever securitisation, the lender said yesterday. The bank wants to reduce its reliance on the Bank of England’s Funding for Lending Scheme (FLS) and raise funds to increase its lending volumes. Mortgage-backed securities got a bad name in the financial crisis [...]
Britain has learned nothing from the credit crunch says top economist March 25, 2014 Britain could be mired in another crash in five years’ time if heavily indebted households and firms are crushed by higher rates, a top economist warned this morning. Interest rates stand at 0.5 per cent, and the Bank of England does not expect to increase this for another year or so. That will mean rock-bottom [...]
UK house prices see biggest jump since summer 2010 March 25, 2014 House prices rose 6.8 per cent compared with a year earlier – the biggest increase since August 2010 – and up from 5.5 per cent in December, according to figures from the Office for National Statistics. A Bloomberg poll revealed analysts expected a rise of 6.6 per cent. London led the increase, with prices up [...]