Mortgages
FeedMortgage lending back on the up
Christina Jordan
Mar 18th 2010
Filed under: Economy, Personal Finance, Mortgages, News
Mortgage lending increased by 6% in February to £9.3bn, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders.The announcement will quell the fears of those who worried that January's drop in lending marked the start of a 'double dip' for the housing market.
It now looks like the winter weather and Stamp Duty distortion did indeed cause a New Year blip that has now corrected itself.
Bernanke confirms US rates to stay low
Adrian Holliday
Mar 17th 2010
Filed under: Debt, Economy, Mortgages
US Federal Reserve boss Ben Bernanke (pictured) says he intends to keep interest rates at rock-bottom for as long as possible. Rates will remain at "exceptionally low levels" the rate-setting committee has confirmed. But it is something of a mixed picture.
Buy-to-let landlords out of the woods?
Adrian Holliday
Mar 16th 2010
Filed under: Loans, Mortgages, Property
RICS' latest Lettings Survey has good news for buy-to-let landords: demand is rising while supply is on the wane. Apparently.RICS claims that 23% more chartered surveyors reported a fall in landlord instructions in the last quarter. Reasons vary, but the modest rise in the housing market generally is a factor, RICS' reckons.
Big leap in new UK mortgage funding
Adrian Holliday
Mar 16th 2010
Filed under: Debt, Personal Finance, Mortgages, Banking
It's raining mortgages out there with a record 70% increase in mortgage products. Moneyfacts says that at the start of April 2009 there were just 1,209 UK products offered – that's now increased by 70% to a total of 2,053.
No interest in the mortgage
Money Expert
Mar 16th 2010
Filed under: Mortgages
Researchers believe that almost one in three homeowners do not know how much interest they are paying on their mortgage.Taking no interest in your mortgage bill is never a good idea given that for homeowners, a mortgage will tend to be their biggest single monthly expense. Failing to understand your home loan and its interest rate is no help if you are trying to keep your budget under control.
FSA rules risk extinction of mutuals
Adrian Holliday
Mar 15th 2010
Filed under: Economy, Personal Finance, Financial Crisis, Mortgages, Insurance
Could new strict FSA rules be the death of mutuals? Building societies are a dying breed currently thanks to increased market consolidation and low interest rates.However the boss of mutual MGM Advantage says new FSA rules could force many to close or merge. Assurance boss Chris Evans told the Independent that the new rules could "force many mutuals to either consider merging or closing to new business and going into run-off."
Scottish Widows bad debts rise
Chris Wheal
Mar 14th 2010
Filed under: Debt, Financial Crisis, Mortgages, Banking
Internet and telephone based mortgage and deposits bank Scottish Widows today announced pre-tax profits of £38.2m for the year, up 14% on last year. Total customer deposits were up £1.1bn at £3.8bn, up 40% on 2008. But its loan impairments soared 65%, or £2.4m to £6.2m. The company said this was low in industry terms and arrears figures were approximately one tenth of the industry average. But that rate of rising bad debt is scary.
FSA to deliver on consumer protection?
Adrian Holliday
Mar 12th 2010
Filed under: Personal Finance, Financial Crisis, Mortgages, Retail, Leisure & hospitality
Consumers will get tougher protection on mortgages, pensions and investment products in the future, according to FSA boss Hector Sants.Sants is leaving his job soon. But he clearly wants to leave the British public better protected against product mis-selling - so some legacy-building is going on.
Call for Budget clarity on mortgage gap
Christina Jordan
Mar 11th 2010
Filed under: Economy, Financial Crisis, Budget 2010, Mortgages
The Government is being urged to make clear in the Budget how it intends to address a looming mortgage funding gap once Government support is withdrawn from lenders.
The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) claims that "this is a matter of urgency in view of the scale of the problem and its potential implications on future funding to support economic recovery".
Rock losses narrow but bonuses are back
Adrian Holliday
Mar 10th 2010
Filed under: Debt, Economy, Loans, Mortgages, Banking
When you've made a £257m loss is it right to splash out on bonuses? For some, that would be an easy question to answer.Not for Gary Hoffman though, boss of Northern Rock. He's defending the decision to pay out bonuses because he claims Northern Rock is now £500m ahead of government targets put in place to turn the bank around.
Are we likely to see the return of mortgage rationing?
Money Expert
Mar 9th 2010
Filed under: Mortgages
The chances are if you're an aspiring first time buyer, you've never even heard of mortgage "rationing". That's because the last decade and more have seen banks and building societies bending over backwards to lend money, rather than check whether buyers have the means of repaying the vast sums they've been borrowing. Whilst the housing market boomed, that wasn't a problem as both banks and borrowers thought the rising cost of property would ensure no-one would lose out.
Budget 2010: Housing market forecast
Christina Jordan
Mar 8th 2010
Filed under: Financial Crisis, Budget 2010, Mortgages, News
Darling's final budget before the General Election is expected to throw more than a few crumbs to voters. But can the housing and mortgage markets expect to see any goodies or have they maxed out on State support over the last two years?
State-funded banks charge over the odds on mortgages
Christina Jordan
Mar 8th 2010
Filed under: Financial Crisis, Mortgages, News , Banking
Bail out the banks and how do they repay us?
By charging higher rates of interest on mortgages than those lenders that didn't require taxpayers' money.
Nationalised and part-nationalised banks priced their homeloans above average rates over the last year, according to financial information provider Moneyfacts.
First-time buyers should head for oldham
Money Expert
Mar 8th 2010
Filed under: Mortgages, Property
A recent report suggested first-time buyers should head to Oldham if they are looking to get on the property ladder. The report found that home buyers with a 25 per cent deposit could expect to pay the lowest monthly mortgage bill in any English city coming in at just £353 a month. Housing hunt
To buy a property with a 25 per cent deposit in Oldham requires savings of £22,754 compared against £32,362 and £25,917 in other areas such as Leeds and Liverpool. The average 25 per cent deposit is now equal to £29,901 but this figure varies considerably from town to town. A 25 per cent deposit on the average London property for example is equal to £79,892.
Interest rates on hold at 0.5%
Christina Jordan
Mar 4th 2010
Filed under: Economy, Mortgages, Savings and Accounts, News , Banking
The Bank of England has just announced it will keep the Base Rate at 0.5% in March.This marks the 12th month in a row that interest rates have been on hold at their record low, following the reduction of the Base Rate from 1% to 0.5% in March 2009.
The Bank also voted to maintain the size of the Asset Purchase Programme at £200 bn.
Time is running out for ISA investors
NY and the City clash: London falling
Economy doing worse than suspected?
