Our expert views and commentary on what’s happening in the world of mortgages and sometimes beyond, along with our regular summary of what the papers say.
L&C recently ran a study to find out the real world value of video game properties. You might be surprised to find out that more people Google ‘How to buy a house in Skyrim’ than ‘How to buy a house in London, Paris, or even New York! So what could this mean in reality? We’ve put together a comparison so you can figure out whether you’d be hanging out in Hyrule or slumming it in Fallout 4’s Home Plate....
There have been so many changes to the property market within the last few years, that for first time buyers coming into the market right now, it’s like a whirlwind. Knowing the right places to look; the appropriate checks to ensure you do; and the changes in mortgage rates and house prices; it’s almost like you need a degree to understand everything involved in the process of buying a house.So here’s a quick guide to the most important things yo...
New research from the National Association of Estate Agents suggests that almost one in four people can’t get a mortgage due to stricter lending criteria from mortgage lenders.Of the 1,800 people surveyed, 56% believed that more relaxed criteria would improve their chances of being able to buy a property. In fact 58% said that more lending by banks by crucial if the UK is to pull out of the current property slump.These results, released yesterda...
In its latest housing market survey, the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) has noted that "Buyer interest is starting to gain real momentum”, although it admits that the market is “still in a fragile state”. Its figures for March showed that new enquiries increased for the fifth consecutive month and the key sales to stocks ratio rose for the third consecutive month.Meanwhile, Nationwide’s latest House Price Index reported a surprise ...
The Halifax House Price Index for January has caused a stir, as it reported prices up 1.9% on December. However it warned that one month's figures did not indicate an end to the downward trend, which has reached 17.2% in the past year. Martin Ellis, chief economist at the Halifax, said “It is always important not to place too much weight on any one month's figures. Historically, house prices have not moved in the same direction month after month ...
There were mixed reviews on the recent rate cuts in the weekend money pages, alongside some topical features on lender’s profits and consumer attitudes. The Mail on Sunday reported that Abbey, Nationwide, Britannia, Cheltenham & Gloucester, Leeds and Yorkshire building societies made cuts to their fixed-rate mortgages last week. The Observer agreed that this was a welcome boost to homebuyers and anyone remortgaging with a decent deposit, but...
The Halifax House Price Index for July showed a drop of 1.7%, mirroring the findings of the Nationwide Index last week. The report cites pressure on household income and constraints on mortgage funds as the reasons consumers are reluctant to enter the housing market, and this in turn is driving prices down. This latest drop brings the annual fall to just under 9%, and puts the average house price at £177,351, equal to the June 2006 figure....
The cost of borrowing was still high on the agenda in mortgage-related articles this weekend. The Financial Times, Sunday Times and Independent on Sunday all looked at the cost of remortgaging and assessed both interest rates and fees. Reportedly, the average fee for a two-year fixed rate is now £968, up from £514 in June 2006. The average fee for a variable-rate mortgage is now £1,023, compared with £823 six months ago.The Sunday Times wrote tha...
According to the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML), remortgaging accounted for 42% of mortgage lending in April and has continued to perform better than house purchase as large numbers of borrowers exit fixed-rate mortgages.CML director general, Michael Coogan commented: "Monthly house purchase lending volumes continue to be lower than last year and there will be a further weakening in coming months as recent mortgage approvals data has shown. "...
The downward trend in house prices shows no sign of losing pace as both Halifax and Nationwide recently reported similar reductions for May.Halifax’s House Price Index showed a 2.4% fall for the month, but added that while prices were now 3.8% lower than this time last year, they should be measured against the gains of recent years where UK prices have grown by 79% over the 5 years to August 2007.Chief economist Martin Ellis blamed the decline on...
According to the Times and the Daily Express, negative equity looms for thousands of hard-pressed borrowers. Reportedly, 23,300 people took on 100 per cent mortgages in the year until March 31st and falling house prices could plunge thousands into a situation where their mortgage is more than the value of their property. However, it is only a problem if owners need to sell, or remortgage once their current deal comes to an end. Experts advised h...
A broad range of mortgage-related articles featured in the weekend papers and topics ranged from green mortgages to buy-to-let student properties. The Financial Times reported that the difference between interest rates available for borrowers with large deposits and those with limited down payments has widened from around 0.4 per cent last year to 1 per cent in recent months. Additionally, Halifax said its index of house prices fell by 1.3 per c...
In their latest monthly surveys, both Halifax and Nationwide reported that house prices continued to fall during April. Whilst this news has only confirmed what many expected, a milestone has been passed as the lenders calculated that for the first time since 1996 our homes are worth less than they were 12 months previously.Both lenders said prices fell by over 1% in April, pushing the annual change into the red by around 1%, and making the avera...
While both Halifax and Nationwide have confirmed further falls in house prices for March, their reports aren’t as gloomy as you might imagine. Nationwide were the first to release figures and reported that house prices fell on average 0.6% in March with the annual change still in credit at 1.1%. This is the fifth consecutive month that prices have fallen, and they now put the average house price at £179,110. In contrast, Halifax reported a much...
Falling house prices and the need for a base rate cut were key topics in the midweek press and moved away from the financial supplements and on to headline pages. The front page of the Times demanded a rate cut as property prices suffered their sharpest fall since the early 1990s. This week, Halifax reported that house prices have fallen by 2.5% over the past year, with the average house now valued at £191,556. The Bank of England is now under in...
The National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) has reported a positive start to the year in their January housing market survey, indicating renewed optimism from consumers. In January, sales to first time buyers rose again for the 4th month running, with them capturing over 14% of gross sales. More importantly for the market as a whole, this is the highest percentage of sales to first time buyers since October 2006. This increase shows that th...