Rate cuts not reflected by mortgage rates
November 30, 2008
According to a recent report mortgage interest rates do not reflect base area cuts, with officials stating that the UK’s major banks do not seem to be in any great rush to pass on recent interest rate cuts to their customers. The base rate has plummeted to just 3% recently following a huge 1.5 percent rate cut earlier in the month, which has nearly halved the base rate compare to this same period last year, when it stood at 5.75 percent. Read more
Sharp fall in low deposit mortgages
November 29, 2008
According to recent reports there has been a sharp fall in the number of low deposit mortgages that are available on the market, making the situation increasingly difficult for first time buyers who want to get onto the property ladder but have very little in the way of savings and no previous property from which to take equity. Most lenders have increased their deposit requirements significantly over the past year since the onset of the global credit crunch. Read more
125 families a day hit by repossession
November 27, 2008
According to figures that were recently released around 125 families a day across the UK have been getting hit by repossession, as many households continue to struggle to keep up with mortgage repayments on their homes. In the three months to September 30th the number of repossessions increased to 11,300, which reflected a rise of 12 percent. The data comes from the Council of Mortgage Lenders. Read more
5% mortgages still falling
November 26, 2008
First time buyers have had it tough for many years. Out of the past eleven years ten of them have seen house prices soaring year on year, and for first time buyers this has resulted in being priced out of the market altogether, with houses costing hundreds of thousand of pounds instead of tens of thousands of pounds. However, over the past year it has been a very different problem that has hit the average first time buyer, and this is the lack of affordable finance to get onto the property ladder. Read more
What you need to look at before you purchase a property
November 26, 2008
Buying a house is a huge commitment, and even in the current financial climate where mortgages are more difficult to come by and house prices are falling but still high, many people decide to take the plunge and purchase a property. The last thing that you want to do when buying a home is end up with the wrong property at the wrong price and in the wrong are, so it is important to research different aspects before you take the plunge and buy a home. Read more
Will the base rate cut really help borrowers?
November 24, 2008
In the past the rules behind interest rates charged by mortgage lenders seemed to be pretty simple - when the Bank of England put up the base rate then mortgage lenders would put up their borrowing rates by the same amount, and when the Bank of England cut the base rate then lenders would cut their borrowing rates by that amount. Simple and straightforward. Read more
September report shows August mortgage lending figures plummeted
November 21, 2008
A report that was released last month by the Council of Mortgage Lenders showed that the previous month saw mortgage lending figures plummet, reflecting the slump that the housing and mortgage markets have been experiencing. The value of mortgage lending for the months was just half of the value of mortgage lending for the same period the previous year. The figure for August was the lowest since 2005, and despite efforts by the government to boost mortgage lending liquidity in the mortgage sector does not seem to be easing. Read more
Possible £40,000 fall in house prices by end of 2009
November 19, 2008
According to recent figures house prices could fall by as much as £40,000 by the end of 2009. The figures indicated that compared to the peak of last October the average house price could fall by around 20% by the end of December next year, and this would mean that property prices were back down to the same level as 2004. The data comes from the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR), which has predicted that it will take until 2010 for the housing market to show any signs of stability. Read more
Responses to surprise rate cut
November 18, 2008
This week saw central banks around the globe take the unprecedented step of cutting base rates in order to try and rescue the world’s financial markets, breathe life into failing economies, and restore the confidence of consumers. Gordon Brown, the Prime Minister, and Alistair Darling, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, called a special press report earlier this week, and announced that the Bank of England had cut the base rate from 5% to 4.5% reflecting a half a percent cut. Read more
Mortgage still being sought by first time buyers
November 17, 2008
A recent report has indicated that despite high house prices and restricted mortgage availability, coupled with higher borrowing costs and the threat of negative equity due to falling house prices, many non-homeowners are still seeking mortgage loans in a bid to try and get onto the property ladder. It is thought that thousands of people are still trying to get onto the property ladder despite the depressed conditions. Read more
What does the government rescue plan involve?
November 16, 2008
Recently the UK government, like some other global government officials, announced details of a proposed rescue plan to bail out the struggling financial markets in the UK, restore consumer confidence, and boost the economy. The details of the plan were unveiled by the Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, and the Chancellor, Alistair Darling, at the same time as the announcement about the surprise base rate cut of 0.5%, which came just a day ahead of the scheduled Monetary Policy Committee meeting where the base rate is usually set. Read more
Firmer regulation needed over sale and rent back schemes
November 15, 2008
According to industry officials firmer regulations is needed when it comes to sale and rent back schemes, which have seen take-up increase over the past year as an increasing number of homeowners have struggled to keep up with repayments on their homes. These schemes work by purchasing the property from the homeowner and then renting it back to them so that they do not have to move but can stop worrying about the mortgage, paying rent on the property instead. Read more
Choice of mortgage for new borrowers falls further
November 13, 2008
According to a recent report the number of mortgage products that are now available for new borrowers has fallen even further over the past couple of weeks, leaving new borrowers really struggling to find a suitable mortgage product that fits in with their needs and pockets. This could further impact on consumer confidence as well as on the housing market, as an increasing number of borrowers fail to find a loan that they can afford or gain access to. Read more
Homeowners not cashing in on their equity
November 12, 2008
According to recent figures released from the Bank of England the number of homeowners in the UK that are now cashing in on their equity by borrowing against it has dropped. It is thought that the number of people borrowing against their equity dropped between April and June of this year, according to a recent report. Read more
Interest rates could plummet next year according to officials
November 11, 2008
Over the past couple of years interest rates have soared to 5.75%, leaving many homeowners struggling to keep on top of their mortgage repayments and resulting in an increase in repossessions. Homeowners were therefore relieved when in December of last year the base rate started to come down, and between last December and April of this year the base rate fell three times by 0.25% each time, taking it to 5%. Read more
What should the banks give us in return for the bailout?
November 10, 2008
We have all heard the proposals and plans that the government has put in place to bailout the banking system in the UK, and the bill for the bailout is likely to run into hundreds of billions of pounds. Moreover, the funding is to come from the public purse, which effectively means that it is the taxpayer than is funding the government bailout, and quite rightly consumers are looking for something back in return for the bailout money. In a recent survey a number of issues were highlighted by consumers, and it appears that there are many changes that we want to see made at UK banks. Read more
Calls for 1% base rate cut
November 9, 2008
The Bank of England is being urged to cut the base interest rate, and some groups are calling for a rate cut of 1% in order to try and weather the imminent recession. It is thought that there could be a 0.5% rate cut or even a 1% cut at the next Monetary Policy Committee meeting in November. It is also thought that other central banks will be slashing interest rates again following the surprise October rate cut, including the US Federal Reserve, which is expected to cut the base rate to just 1%. Read more
How low will rates go?
November 9, 2008
Interest rates have been causing problems for many homeowners and would be property purchasers over the past couple of years. Between August 2006 and July 2007 the base rate was increased no less than five times, and with each rise being 0.25% this took the base rate from 4.5% to 5.75%. For many homeowners with variable rate mortgages this caused huge problems, as their monthly mortgage repayments rocketed by hundreds of pounds a month in some cases. Those that were hoping to get onto the property ladder found themselves priced out of the market because they could not afford to take out a mortgage at such a high rate of interest. Read more
Warning on 0% interest rates
November 5, 2008
A leading economist has recently stated that the base rate in the UK may have to fall to 0% in order to try and get the financial markets and the economy back on a stable footing. The warning comes as the economy races towards recession. Charles Goodhart, a founding member of the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee, said that the base rate was set to fall aggressively. He served as a member of the MPC between 1997 and 2000, and is now professor emeritus of banking and finance at the London School of Economics. Read more
Mortgage approval levels still very low say authorities
November 4, 2008
There is further doom and gloom for consumers in the UK following a recent report from the British Banker’s Association, which claims that mortgage lending approvals in the UK are still way down compared to last year even though there was a slight rise in lending levels for the month of September. Any ray of hope from the slightly higher September figures was dampened following reports that the number of mortgage approvals compared to September of last year was down by around 57%. Read more
Tightening of rules over doorstep sellers
November 3, 2008
Doorstep selling has always been a controversial area, but at the same time there is evidence that the number of people that are turning to doorstep sellers offering cheap goods and services has been increasing over the past year as a result of the tighter credit conditions that have come into play since the onset of the global credit crunch. Many people have now found that they are unable to get finance to pay for more expensive work from more reputable firms, and many have therefore opted for cheap services and goods from doorstep sellers. Read more
Massive fine for A&L over PPI
November 3, 2008
The Financial Services Authority has come down hard on one lender over the mis-selling of payment protection insurance, or PPI, fining it a record £7 million. Following investigations the UK’s financial regulator has fined the lender for three years of mis-selling the controversial payment protection cover with its financial products. Read more
More bad news for those with low deposits
November 2, 2008
Over recent months an increasing number of lenders have been demanding larger deposits from borrowers looking for mortgages, and this has resulted in many first time buyers and low income buyers being squeezed out of the market as they are unable to raise the deposit required to get the mortgage that they want. Recent reports suggest that over the past couple of weeks the problem has become worse, and these groups could face increased difficulty. Read more