housefund.co.uk - UK & Irish Property News

Ramsgate tipped as the next property hotspot

admin — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 11:24:38 GMT

Ramsgate has been tipped as one of two UK seaside resorts to become a sought-after hotspot for 2010, alongside Plymouth, as it benefits from regeneration investment and improved infrastructure and transport links, says email4property.co.uk. Prices in the town have become much more affordable over the last couple of years, with the average property price dropping by [...]

House-building to hit lowest levels since 1923

admin — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 10:53:11 GMT

The number of new homes built in England and Wales in 2009/10 will slump to its lowest level since 1923 – fuelling fears that a chronic shortage of housing will leave millions of people trapped in overcrowded and substandard housing for a generation to come, the National Housing Federation warns. The National Housing Federation has forecast [...]

Criminal gangs target landlords

admin — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 12:12:25 GMT

Landlords’ properties are being targeted by criminal gangs as a cover for illegal activity, according to the National Landlords Association (NLA), the leading representative body for private-residential landlords in the UK. Privately-rented homes across the UK are being used as a smokescreen to grow cannabis in homemade ‘factories’, and produce the harmful drug crystal meth. But [...]

Prime London prices continue to grow

admin — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 09:56:52 GMT

Prime central London prices rose 1.1% in January, the 10th consecutive month of price growth Knight Frank reports. January’s price growth was the slowest since August 2009 and is markedly lower than the 2.1% recorded in December 2009. On an annual basis price growth is now running at 11.5%. Liam Bailey, head of residential research, Knight [...]

January sees modest house price growth

admin — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 10:32:01 GMT

House prices rose for the seventh consecutive month, but January’s rise was the lowest during this period and was significantly below the 1.1% average over the previous six months. The figures from Halifax report that prices have risen by 9.9% since reaching a low in April 2009; an increase in the average price of £15,287 over [...]

FSA bans West London mortgage broker

admin — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 09:09:02 GMT

The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has banned mortgage intermediary Andrew Emelife for knowingly submitting mortgage applications to lenders that contained false and misleading income information. Mr Emelife also commissioned an accountant to provide false accountants statements for himself and at least one customer to commit mortgage fraud. Trading as Loans4Assets.com in Shepherd’s Bush, West London, Emelife submitted [...]

The Mortgage Works launch new buy-to-let stepped trackers

admin — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 21:07:59 GMT

The Mortgage Works has unveiled a number of changes to its portfolio, including a new range of Stepped Buy to Let Tracker products, with rates from Bank of England Base Rate + 4.14% (4.64%). The tracker follow the the Bank of England Base Rate + 4.14% (4.64%), stepping down to Bank of England Base Rate + [...]

Gross lending up 15% at building societies

admin — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 10:37:58 GMT

Gross mortgage lending by building societies was £1.8 billion in December, compared to £1.6 billion in November, an increase of 15%. Gross lending for 2009 totaled £18.6 billion compared to £37.5 billion in 2008. Building society gross lending amounted to £1,815 million in December 2009 compared to £2,312 million in December 2008. Commenting on the [...]

Irish mortgage lenders punish existing customers

admin — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 10:59:35 GMT

Some Irish mortgage lenders have been accused of punishing their existing customers by offering higher interest rates on mortages than for new customers. The Irish Independent has reported that Permanent TSB, Bank of Ireland and KBC Homeloans have been charging higher fixed-rate mortgages to existing customers. The paper cited Permanent TSB who has recently increased [...]

House prices up across just 7% of the country

admin — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 20:14:13 GMT

Overall house prices rose by 0.1% in January while the year on year rate of grow currently stands at -0.1, property group Hometrack reports. January’s survey reveals a sluggish start to the year as the market shrugs off the usual seasonal effects after an unexpectedly strong end to 2009. January saw a decline both in the number [...]

Mortgage lending figures may point to slower January

admin — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 20:05:08 GMT

The latest Bank of England mortgage data confirms the likelihood that there may have been a “bunching” of house purchase transactions in December to beat the stamp duty concession deadline. The gross lending total of £13.4 bn in December 2009 was in line with the CML’s estimate (£13.5 bn) and seems to confirm the CML’s view [...]

House prices start 2010 strongly

admin — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 10:54:02 GMT

House price growth could reach 10% during the year – provided current growth continues, Nationwide Building Society has reported. Nationwide’s January house price survey reports that average UK house price rose by 1.2% in the first month of 2010, pushing the annual rate up to 8.6%. It means the average UK home now costs £163,481. With the [...]

Homeowners rate buying a house as more stressful than having a child

admin — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 12:35:13 GMT

One in four homeowners (24%) said buying a house was the most stressful experience of their lives, followed by starting a new job (14%), having a child (13%) and getting married (9%). House buying tops the table of ‘most stressful life experiences’ with one in four (24%) homeowners finding it the most demanding and stressful thing [...]

Reluctant Tenants on the Rise

admin — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 12:27:23 GMT

The UK housing market is experiencing a trend of ‘reluctant tenants’, following a shift in supply and demand for properties, according to the Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA). ARLA’s research, conducted across UK letting agents and landlords, reveals that the surplus of rental property is reducing, while demand for properties rises. According to ARLA, this shift [...]

Agents cast an eye on international trends

admin — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 11:15:46 GMT

The National Association of Estate Agents International has revealed its predictions for the global property market over the next 12 months. Predicting a market hugely dependent on the strength of the sterling, the Association said: • Purchasers will be looking for ‘less risky’ investments and in particular towards the more stable markets such as France and Italy [...]

Home buyers get more options

admin — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 14:57:34 GMT

‘Cash is King’ has been the rule for some time for those buying a property, but new analysis from moneysupermarket.com has shown that providers are beginning to loosen the purse strings with more products now available to mortgage borrowers with lower deposits or equity in their properties. Deals with an 85 per cent Loan to Value [...]

UK house prices doubled during the 2000s

admin — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 11:42:21 GMT

The noughties was a significant period for the UK housing market. Despite a fall of more than one-fifth between mid 2007 and mid 2009, house prices increased by more in real (i.e. inflation adjusted) terms than in any other decade over the last 50 years. The research from Halifax revealed that house prices increased by 105% [...]

Stamp duty holiday pushed up mortgage lending

admin — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 20:57:43 GMT

Mortgage lending strengthened slightly in December, with gross lending inflated by some borrowers pushing through purchases ahead of the end of stamp duty relief. Figures from the British Bankers Associaton (BBA) for December 2009 reveal that gross mortgage lending rose in December to be some 12% higher than a year ago and was boosted by borrowers [...]

Mortgage lenders react to FSA proposals

admin — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 16:27:50 GMT

The Council of Mortgage Lenders broadly agrees with the proposals on arrears handling put forward by the Financial Services Authority, but will need to review the practical implications to ensure there are no unintended consequences. However, at first sight the CML is concerned that the FSA’s proposals on how to extend the approved persons regime may [...]

FSA moves to protect borrowers and reduce mortgage fraud

admin — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 16:09:44 GMT

The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has today set out a package of measures that will help to ensure that mortgage holders in arrears are treated fairly and which reinforces the FSA’s tough stance in its battle against mortgage fraud. The proposals strengthen existing rules on arrears handling – one of the urgent issues flagged in the [...]

Northern Rock plc launches new ‘Everyday’ range

admin — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 11:07:41 GMT

Northern Rock plc is introducing a new range of ‘Everyday’ mortgages, which will be available from Monday (25 January 2010). Northern Rock, now reborn as a bank, say their mortgage products offer customers simple, straightforward mortgage deals with competitive rates, the ability to make overpayments of up to 10% each year, and the option to request [...]

Gross mortgage lending up 14% in December

admin — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 11:32:41 GMT

Gross mortgage lending reached an estimated £13.7 billion in December, a 14% rise from £12.1 billion in November and up 3% on December 2008, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders. This is the first time the annual monthly comparison has been in positive territory since October 2007. However, other than in 2008, this is still [...]

Home searchers rise by 25 percent

admin — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 10:16:11 GMT

The number of people searching for property soared by more than 25 per cent in the 12 months to December, according to the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA). The NAEA’s monthly market report found that the average estate agent had 251 house-hunters on its books in December, compared to 200 in December 2008. The number of [...]

More mortgage products become available

admin — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 14:01:52 GMT

A mortgage milestone was passed last week when the number of mortgage products available surpassed 2,500 for the first time since May last year. Figures from moneysupermarket.com show available mortgage products have increased for the third month in a row. However this is a far cry from pre credit crunch conditions. In August 2007, just before Northern [...]

One in ten landlords plan to buy during 2010

admin — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 11:20:26 GMT

One in 10 landlords plan to purchase residential property for investment purposes in the first quarter of 2010, but they continue to be hampered by a lack of suitable mortgage finance. Research from Paragon Mortgages reveals that 10% of landlords want to expand their portfolio in the first three months of 2010. Of those looking to [...]