HOUSING NEWS

The cost of the typical UK home has risen to more than £250,000 for the first time, according to the UK’s biggest mortgage lender. The Halifax, part of Lloyds Banking Group, said house prices in October were 7.5% higher than a year ago. Demand for bigger homes had risen, with changing priorities and working from […]

House prices rose at their fastest rate for five years in October as buyers raced to beat next year’s stamp duty deadline, the Nationwide has said. Annual house price growth accelerated to 5.8%, taking the average price to £227,826, the lender said. At the moment, buyers of homes valued at up to £500,000 in England […]

There is very little detail on the idea of supporting first-time buyers with small deposits with new long-term mortgages. Mortgages that offer 95% of a property’s value have been a fairly commonplace feature of the market, but have always been more expensive, reflecting their risk. In recent weeks they have spiked in cost, and become […]

Banks are required to fill out a survey detailing how a zero or negative bank rate will affect services, how reliant they are on third parties to accommodate the change, as well as the time and costs needed to implement the rate change.  In the letter, Sam Woods, deputy governor and CEO of the Prudential Regulation […]

First-time buyers have been finding it particularly hard to buy a property since the pandemic began as lenders have cut maximum loan to values (LTVs). The stamp duty holiday in England and Northern Ireland was also granted to landlords and second home owners, further squeezing those looking to buy their first home as house prices […]

House prices are forecast to fall by 14 per cent next year according to the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR): The fall is expected to come after the stamp duty holiday ends and the full impact of the winding down of the job retention scheme is felt by the economy. House prices are […]

The government has announced new measures to help more people get onto the property ladder, as part of a £12.2bn investment in increasing affordable housing. A new shared ownership model would see the minimum initial share to buy in a property reduced from 25% to 10%. People would also be able to buy additional shares […]

Four of the UK’s largest housebuilders are being investigated after “troubling evidence” was uncovered over the way leaseholds were sold. Barratt Developments, Countryside Properties, Persimmon Homes and Taylor Wimpey face action from the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). Buyers have argued that they were caught in a leasehold trap, with rising ground rents and unfair […]

The chancellor’s policy of suspending of stamp duty on the first £500,000 of all property sales in England and Northern Ireland has helped boost house prices. August saw the highest monthly price rise in more than 16 years, says the Nationwide. It describes the housing market recovery as “unexpectedly rapid.” So what has Chancellor Rishi […]

Pent-up demand has led to properties taking less time to sell since the height of lockdown, according to research. In the 90 days to mid-August, a three-bedroom home has typically sold in 24 days, property portal Zoopla said. This is 12 days quicker than the same period a year ago. All types of property have […]