Latest News

Reminder on Stamp Duty holiday

Estate agents have issued a reminder to first time buyers that the Government’s holiday on Stamp Duty Land Tax will come to an end in two months’ time, on Saturday 24th March 2012. Wendy Evans Scott, president of the NAEA said: “With only two months remaining, first time buyers must act quickly to avoid paying [...]

Mortgage lending continues to grow

Gross mortgage lending in December was an estimated £11.7 billion, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders. This represents a 12 per cent drop from £13.2 billion in November but a 12 per cent rise from December 2010 (£10.5 billion). December was the fifth month in a row of higher year-on-year lending. Lending totalled an [...]

YBS expands buy-to-let offering

Yorkshire Building Society has extended the geographical reach of its buy-to-let proposition to cover loans on suitable properties across England and Wales. The move represents the next step in the Society’s staged entry into the market and is accompanied by a review to the lender’s criteria. The Yorkshire entered the buy-to-let market in August 2011, [...]

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Homebuying news

Mortgage lending continues to grow

Gross mortgage lending in December was an estimated £11.7 billion, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders. This represents a 12 per cent drop from £13.2 billion in November but a 12 per cent rise from December 2010 (£10.5 billion). December was the fifth month in a row of higher year-on-year lending. Lending totalled an [...]

Base rate held

The Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of England has voted this month to keep the base rate on hold at 0.5 per cent. There has been no expansion of the quantitative easing programme. The rate has been at its historically low level since March 2009, with many experts saying they don’t expect to see [...]

Mortgages in 2011 most affordable on record

Lenders offering some of their cheapest mortgage deals last year helped make homeowners’ monthly mortgage payments in 2011 the most affordable for 10 years, according to new research released today from Barclays. In an analysis of more than one million customers’ accounts it found that, on average, people paid out 15.4 per cent of their [...]

Location will be key for property investors this year

Property investors should be very selective about the areas they choose to buy in during 2012, warns buy to let specialist Assetz. Low returns on savings versus strong demand for rental property will continue to drive investment in the UK buy to let market, but with unemployment rising and the Eurozone crisis yet to play [...]

Transaction levels hold up

Sales activity remained relatively firm during December and an increasing amount of new stock came onto the housing market, according to the latest RICS UK Housing Market survey. The average number of completed sales per surveyor in the three months to December was 15.2. While slightly down on November’s figure, this remains close to its [...]

Buy-to-let news

YBS expands buy-to-let offering

Yorkshire Building Society has extended the geographical reach of its buy-to-let proposition to cover loans on suitable properties across England and Wales. The move represents the next step in the Society’s staged entry into the market and is accompanied by a review to the lender’s criteria. The Yorkshire entered the buy-to-let market in August 2011, [...]

Tide turning in rental sector

An easing in the demand for rental property and a rise in the numbers of tenants struggling to meet their monthly rent payments signals that the rental market may be softening, new research from the Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA) suggests. According to ARLA’s latest research, in Q4 2011 just over half (55 per [...]

New advice for beginner landlords

The National Landlords Association (NLA) has published guidelines for homeowners who are considering becoming a landlord and letting out their home. With property prices remaining stagnant, and homes in some parts of the country still difficult to sell, many homeowners are considering letting their property as an alternative to selling. A recent NLA survey of landlords [...]

Paragon launches 50 new products

Paragon has launched 50 new products, expanding its offering to help landlords further grow their businesses in 2012. Of the new products 44 sit under the main Paragon Mortgages brand, and have been designed especially to cater for the professional landlord. Existing criteria has been changed so that it is more flexible for intermediaries to [...]

NAEA predicts 2012

The National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) has revealed its predictions for the UK property market over the next 12 months. NAEA chief executive Peter Bolton King said 2012 will see a ‘gradual’ recovery for the UK property market, as it continues to bounce along the bottom – with no “great upturn” to mark a [...]

First-time buyer news

Reminder on Stamp Duty holiday

Estate agents have issued a reminder to first time buyers that the Government’s holiday on Stamp Duty Land Tax will come to an end in two months’ time, on Saturday 24th March 2012. Wendy Evans Scott, president of the NAEA said: “With only two months remaining, first time buyers must act quickly to avoid paying [...]

Mortgage lending continues to grow

Gross mortgage lending in December was an estimated £11.7 billion, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders. This represents a 12 per cent drop from £13.2 billion in November but a 12 per cent rise from December 2010 (£10.5 billion). December was the fifth month in a row of higher year-on-year lending. Lending totalled an [...]

Base rate held

The Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of England has voted this month to keep the base rate on hold at 0.5 per cent. There has been no expansion of the quantitative easing programme. The rate has been at its historically low level since March 2009, with many experts saying they don’t expect to see [...]

Mortgages in 2011 most affordable on record

Lenders offering some of their cheapest mortgage deals last year helped make homeowners’ monthly mortgage payments in 2011 the most affordable for 10 years, according to new research released today from Barclays. In an analysis of more than one million customers’ accounts it found that, on average, people paid out 15.4 per cent of their [...]

Location will be key for property investors this year

Property investors should be very selective about the areas they choose to buy in during 2012, warns buy to let specialist Assetz. Low returns on savings versus strong demand for rental property will continue to drive investment in the UK buy to let market, but with unemployment rising and the Eurozone crisis yet to play [...]

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