May 14, 2010

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Positive news all round on buy-to-let mortgage arrears

Permalink: Positive news all round on buy-to-let mortgage arrears
by Gill Montia

CHL Mortgages has revealed further improvements in early and late arrears across its entire buy-to-let and home loan mortgage book. Figures to April 2010 show a 37% reduction in gross arrears and a 40% reduction in late arrears (over 90 ...

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New Government confirms abolishment of Hips

Permalink: New Government confirms abolishment of Hips
by Kay Mitchell

The new coalition Government has confirmed that it is proposing to scrap the Home Information Pack (Hip), while retaining the Energy Performance Certificate (EPC), which is required under European law. For many months now, the Conservative party pledged to scrap the packs ...

May 13, 2010

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DCLG: House prices rise in March

Permalink: DCLG: House prices rise in March
by Kay Mitchell

Official data from the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) today revealed UK house prices crept up by 0.7% in March compared with February, with the average UK home costing £205,598. On an annual basis, prices were up by 9.7% in ...

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Repossessions in Q1 fall below 10,000

Permalink: Repossessions in Q1 fall below 10,000
by Kay Mitchell

Figures published by the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) today revealed a fall in the number of homes repossessed in the first three months of 2010, as a result of the low interest rate environment, which resulted in lower mortgage repayments ...

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Buy-to-let lending stable but low volume

Permalink: Buy-to-let lending stable but low volume
by Gill Montia

Buy-to-let lending settled back to former levels in the first quarter of 2010, after a flurry of house purchase activity by investors keen to take advantage of the stamp duty holiday. According to the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML), the number ...

May 12, 2010

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Post Office launches 90% LTV mortgage

Permalink: Post Office launches 90% LTV mortgage
by Kay Mitchell

The Post Office will bring hope to first-time buyers with its mortgage deal that requires just a 10% deposit. The deal, available from tomorrow, comes as part of a revamped range of mortgages from the Post Office. First-time buyers have been ...

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Barratt optimistic as sales in line with expectations

Permalink: Barratt optimistic as sales in line with expectations
by Kay Mitchell

Housebuilder Barratt Developments, the UK’s largest homebuilder by volume, has today reported a pick up in sales rates since February. The company added it is “on track” to deliver a profit in the six months to the end of ...

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Boom years ahead for buy-to-let lending

Permalink: Boom years ahead for buy-to-let lending
by Gill Montia

Business information provider, Datamonitor, is predicting that gross buy-to-let lending in the UK will increase 150% over the next four years. In a report entitled "Buy-to-Let Mortgages and the Rental Sector" the analyst forecasts a rise in gross lending to £25.6 billion ...

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Buy-to-let the white knight of the housing industry

Permalink: Buy-to-let the white knight of the housing industry
by Gill Montia

HomeLet is celebrating the arrival of the 80% loan-to-value buy-to-let mortgage from The Mortgage Works (TMW), a division of Nationwide. According to the tenant referencing firm's managing director, John Boyle, restrictive lending conditions on buy-to-let loans have contributed to the ...

May 11, 2010

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Tory/Lib Dem coalition is good news for housing market

Permalink: Tory/Lib Dem coalition is good news for housing market
by Kay Mitchell

According to flat-share website, easyroommate.co.uk, a Conservative/Liberal Democrat coalition provides great opportunities for the housing market. Sources this evening say the Conservative party is close to forming a coalition with the Liberal Democrats after days of talks between ...

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Lettingweb to launch iPad property search app

Permalink: Lettingweb to launch iPad property search app
by Gill Montia

Lettingweb.com will shortly be enhancing its property search offering with the launch of an iPad application. The Edinburgh-based firm has been spurred on by the success of the iPad and decided to embrace the Multi-Touch screen device, despite a shortage ...

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Rics: Housing market sees traditional spring bounce

Permalink: Rics: Housing market sees traditional spring bounce
by Kay Mitchell

According to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics), activity in the housing market is buoyant, due to the traditional spring pick up. Rics said in April, 17% more surveyors said prices were going up rather than falling, up from 9% ...

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TMW increases buy-to-let LTVs to 80%

Permalink: TMW increases buy-to-let LTVs to 80%
by Gill Montia

The Mortgage Works (TMW) has increased loan-to-value ratios on some of its buy-to-let mortgages to up to 80%. The range includes a one-year fix at 4.69% with a 2.5% arrangement fee; a three-year fixed-rate at 5.99% with a 3% arrangement fee and ...

May 10, 2010

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Slowing house price growth does little help to first-time buyers

Permalink: Slowing house price growth does little help to first-time buyers
by Gill Montia

The latest house price index from Halifax has prompted Easyroommate.co.uk managing director, Jonathan Moore, to declare that house purchase is still "way out of reach for thousands of first-timers", with ensuing benefits for landlords. Last week, Halifax reported ...

May 7, 2010

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Halifax reports 0.1% fall in house prices in April

Permalink: Halifax reports 0.1% fall in house prices in April
by Kay Mitchell

The Halifax has today revealed a 0.1% fall in house prices for the month of April compared with March. The latest house price rise takes the annual increase to 6.6%, with the average UK home costing £168,202. According to the ...

May 6, 2010

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Assetz: House prices up 8.8% on year

Permalink: Assetz: House prices up 8.8% on year
by Kay Mitchell

The latest figures from Assetz House Price Watch has revealed that house prices are now just 7.5% lower than their peak of October 2007. Assetz, which compiles monthly average figures supplied by the five major house price indices, said average house ...

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Proactive approach needed to eliminate voids

Permalink: Proactive approach needed to eliminate voids
by Gill Montia

Landlords need to adopt a "proactive and professional" approach to marketing their properties if they want to avoid losing money. This was one of the main conclusions drawn from letting agent Upad's recent webinar, which allowed landlords to question panellists that ...

May 5, 2010

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Landlord optimism skewed towards London

Permalink: Landlord optimism skewed towards London
by Gill Montia

Landlords’ property price expectations have stabilised at pre-credit crunch levels, according to the latest Young Index of residential investment sentiment. However, optimism on house prices is "heavily skewed" towards London and while the appetite to invest is strong, access to finance is ...

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Connells: Housing market activity continues to rise

Permalink: Connells: Housing market activity continues to rise
by Kay Mitchell

There have been many reports recently suggesting that the ongoing uncertainty about the economy and the forthcoming general election continues to have an impact on consumer confidence and, as a result, housing market activity is expected to remain subdued in ...

May 4, 2010

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BoE reports marginal rise in March mortgage approvals

Permalink: BoE reports marginal rise in March mortgage approvals
by Kay Mitchell

The Bank of England has today revealed a slight rise in the number of new mortgages approved in March. According to the Bank, mortgage approvals for the month stood at 48,901, slightly higher than the 46,882 in February and 17% ...