HOUSING NEWS

House prices have fallen for the last two months running, according to the UK’s largest lender. The Halifax said prices fell by 0.6% in January, following December’s fall of 0.8%. It is the first time since the summer of 2016 that prices have declined in two consecutive months. However, on an annual basis the Halifax […]

One of several organisations that resolves disputes in the property market has announced it is going to withdraw from the sector. Ombudsman Services said it would no longer offer “a broken solution to a broken market”. It is one of at least four services that offers redress in arguments between property agents – including estate […]

Online estate agency Purplebricks has defended its business after critical comments by analysts. On Thursday, stockbrokers Jefferies issued a research note questioning its claim it sold more than three quarters of homes listed with it. Jefferies said Purplebricks’ sales success rate was just over 51% and near the middle of the pack of its study […]

Hundreds of thousands of homeowners could be at risk of losing their homes by ignoring how they will pay off their mortgage, a regulator has warned. Nearly one in five mortgage-holders has an interest-only home loan, meaning they would need savings or other funds to pay a final lump sum. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) […]

Chancellor Philip Hammond’s plans to tackle the housing crisis will fail without further reforms, MPs say. Abolishing stamp duty on homes under £300,000 was the centre piece of Mr Hammond’s November budget. The government says it has already helped more than 16,000 people get on the property ladder. But the Treasury select committee said the […]

The Midlands saw the fastest growth in house prices over the year to the end of November, official figures show. Property values grew by 7.2% in the West Midlands and 6.4% in the East Midlands, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said. London saw the slowest growth (2.3%) among the English regions. Separate figures suggested […]

Labour wants to extend a tax cut designed to help people buy their first home to those getting shared ownership properties. The government abolished stamp duty for thousands of households in its last budget. But it potentially excludes shared ownership buyers. Labour’s shadow housing minister John Healey said: “It’s not fair. These are the people that […]

Homes in Wales saw price rises of 8% in 2017 Homeowners in the East Midlands and Wales saw the value of their properties rise faster than anywhere else in the UK last year, according to the UK’s largest mortgage lender. Both areas saw prices rise by 8% during 2017, the Halifax said. Strong price gains […]

House prices grew much more slowly in 2017 than in the previous year, the UK’s largest mortgage lender has reported. The Halifax said prices rose by 2.7% in 2017 – compared with a 6.5% increase in 2016. On a calendar year basis, that is the lowest rise since 2012. The slowdown was driven by a […]

Potential first-time buyers must typically save for eight years to afford a deposit to buy a home, data suggests. A typical 20% deposit in London is now more than £80,000, according to the Nationwide Building Society. Elsewhere in the UK, the average deposit could be closer to £20,000, the lender said. The squeeze on wages […]