HOUSING NEWS

The City regulator is planning a change of rules that could lower the housing costs of thousands of so-called “mortgage prisoners”. Some 140,000 homeowners are trapped on high interest-rate home loans with unregulated or inactive firms, and are unable to switch to a cheaper deal. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has now said it is […]

UK house prices grew at an annual pace of 0.5% in December, the Nationwide building society has said, the slowest annual rate since February 2013. The lender says uncertainty over the economic outlook appears to be undermining confidence in the market. London and surrounding areas saw a small fall in house prices in 2018. Northern […]

Around 367,038 first-time buyers secured mortgages in 2018, up from 362,800 in 2017, according to figures released by Yorkshire Building Society. The analysis indicated that the number of first-time buyer mortgages exceeded 2007 levels, when 359,900 first-time buyers took out mortgages. It was almost double the 193,300 seen in 2008, when the financial crisis impacted […]

Annual house price growth across the UK slowed to its weakest levels in over five years in October, official figures show. And for the first time since 2011, annual house price falls have now rippled out into the London suburbs – following a falling trend already seen across central London this year. Average house prices […]

Surveyors like Mark Hunter say Brexit will affect confidence for a while to come Uncertainty and gloom about Brexit are likely to hit the UK housing market well into next year, surveyors believe. The latest report from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) predicts that the number of homes being sold – and their […]

Annual growth in UK house prices slowed to its lowest rate for six years with property values barely changed from a year ago, a major lender has said. The Halifax, part of Lloyds Banking Group – the UK’s biggest mortgage lender, said prices rose by 0.3% in November compared with a year earlier. House prices […]

Risks are highest for borrowers already on higher interest rates, such as those in the second charge mortgage sector, according to Jonathan Davidson, the regulator’s executive director of supervision, retail and authorisation. The FCA found lenders are not always properly assessing whether payment plans for customers in long-term arrears are affordable, which could erode equity […]

Uncertainty in the economy, as well as a squeeze on household budgets, is keeping potential buyers out of the housing market, a lender has said. The Nationwide Building Society said that demand from buyers was “subdued” and unlikely to pick up soon. UK house prices had risen by 1.9% in the year to November, it […]

Properties are taking longer to sell than a year age, analysis suggests, at an average of more than three months in urban areas of the UK. Homes in cities and major towns were on the market for 102 days on average before being sold or put under offer. This was six days longer than in […]

Mortgage lending slows ahead of Brexit…