Borrowers on SVRs could save £4,500 in mortgage interest a year
How switching mortgage could save you £4,500 a year More than two million mortgage borrowers sitting on standard variable rates (SVR) could save a typical £4,500 a year by moving on to a better fixed rate, analysis has shown. Mortgaged homeowners on SVR deals usually...
Budget 2018: Hammond adds £500m to housing infrastructure fund
Chancellor Philip Hamond has detailed the numbers his government has promised to spend in the pursuit of building more houses. “I can announce today a further £500m for the housing infrastructure fund to unlock a further 650,000 homes,” Hammond said as he delivered...
Estate agents pressuring buyers to use in-house brokers and charging 8% commission on auction sales – HOA
The Home Owners Alliance (HOA) has revealed it is examining cases where consumers have been charged massive rates of commission by estate agents when conducting auctions on individual property sales. The consumer representation group also highlighted the continuing...
Government launches new build ombudsman to protect buyers
"New homes should be covered by an Ombudsman, as consumers have no idea that when they buy a new home directly from a developer they will have no access to a redress scheme. " Secretary of state for housing, communities and local government, James Brokenshire,...
Which Northern city has seen the fastest rate of house price growth this year?
Prices are growing fastest in the UK's most affordable cities Liverpool is the fastest growing city for house prices in the UK, with an annual rate of inflation of 7.5%, according to Hometrack. The Northern powerhouse is followed by Glasgow (7.2%) and Nottingham...
Help to Buy ISA flaw delays 45,000 first-time buyers
One in four first-time buyers claim the government’s Help to Buy ISA is misleading and unhelpful because savings can’t be used towards a deposit for a home. Research from OneFamily suggests this flaw has delayed 45,000 first-time buyers from getting on the housing...
Government pledges £2bn of extra funding for housing associations
As extra £2 billion will be available for housing associations from 2022 to build and manage tens of thousands of properties. Speaking at the National Housing Federation (NHF) Summit today, Prime Minister Theresa May commented that social housing is not the tenure for...
1.8% house price growth for third consecutive month
Monthly prices rose modestly in August, according to the latest house price index from LSL Property Services and Acadata. Prices were up just 0.1%, but the report said this was enough to put an end to consistent falls seen every month since March. Regional variances...
House prices still recovering from financial crisis
The latest UK Cities House Price Index House from Hometrack has found that prices in a quarter of the UK’s largest cities are struggling to recover to the level they were at during the height of the financial crisis. Prices in Belfast, Liverpool and Aberdeen are still...
As house prices continue to rise in the UK so too does the value of building land
The price of land for house building is continuing to rise in the UK but house price growth is now outpacing land value growth, having run in parallel since the economic downturn, the latest analysis shows. The growth in land values is led by a rise of 4.8% in...
Don’t be scared to haggle on estate agent fees!
You don't have to accept the first fee presented to you, as many agents will be prepared to negotiate High street estate agents cashed in on almost half-a-billion pounds over the past 12 months, over our reluctance to haggle over fees, said Housesimple.com. The online...
Brokers confident about prospects in second half of 2018
Almost half of brokers expect to complete more business in the second half of 2018 than they managed in the first half of the year. Mortgage Solutions polled brokers on their confidence levels for the rest of the year, with 47% of brokers forecasting they will have an...
Bank of England should aim to freeze house prices for five years – report
Mortgage restrictions could end reliance on property investment to drive economy Mortgage restrictions should be imposed on UK homebuyers by the Bank of England to prevent house prices rising for at least the next five years, a prominent left-of-centre thinktank has...
Bank of England chief Carney raises expectations of August rate rise
Bank of England governor Mark Carney has raised expectations of an interest rate rise next month, after talking up the UK’s economic performance. Data points to a pick-up in growth in the second quarter of the year, after a disappointing start to 2018, according to...
Government confirms £1.67bn for affordable housing builds outside London
As part of a £9bn investment in affordable housing, the government confirmed a further £1.67bn to build 12,500 new homes outside the capital. Back in March, the government confirmed the same sum for 12,500 social rent homes in London. This funding will include homes...