Prices rise due to lack of supply

House prices are still being driven up by a relative shortage of properties for sale, says the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics). Its latest monthly survey, for November, suggests that prices have risen for the fourth month in a row. The number of surveyors...


Mortgage Lending Levels

The recent rise in mortgage lending to house buyers has levelled off, the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) says...


Borrowers face tougher scrutiny

Borrowers face a mortgage affordability test from lenders amid plans by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) to step up the regulation of home loans. Self-certification mortgages will be banned under the proposals with lenders required to verify borrowers' incomes. FSA chief...


September House Prices

House prices rose to their highest level in a year in September and there was the first increase in house-building in nearly two years, but this was not enough to stop an overall decline in construction activity. Moreover, economists warned that the recovery in house prices from...


Summer drop in Mortgage lending

  Mortgage lending fell by 13% in August on the previous month, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders(CML). The CML said UK gross mortgage lending totalled about £12.6bn, down from July's revised total of £14.5bn. Mortgage lending, sales and house prices...


House prices - latest

House prices rose by 0.8% in August compared with July - the second monthly rise in a row, says the Halifax. Property values were 10.1% lower in the three months to August compared with the same period a year ago, the survey found. The average UK home was now valued at £160...


Fewer lenders dominate home loans

Six mortgage lenders increased their hold over the market for new UK home loans in 2008, according to Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) data. The top six, led by the Lloyds banking group, accounted for 78% of all new loans, compared to 72% the year before. The CML said the credit...


First 2009 rise in house prices

House prices in England and Wales have risen month-on-month for the first time since January 2008, according to the Land Registry. The 0.1% rise in June compared with May brought the value of the average home to £153,046, the survey found. It said that the figures revealed...


Summer rise in mortgage lending

The total amount of UK mortgage lending rose sharply in June compared with the previous month, according to lenders. The amount lent by members of the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) reached £12.3bn in June, up from £10.5bn a month earlier. However, the rise was...


Mortgage Approvals on the rise...

  The property market continued to pick up in May, according to figures from the Bank of England. The number of mortgages approved for house buying rose to 43,414, up from the figure of 43,191 the month before. It was the fourth month in a row that approvals have risen...


House Prices

House prices in England and Wales fell slightly again last month, according to figures from the Land Registry. The average house price in May fell by 0.2% from April to £152,497, while the annual rate of decline was 15.9%. This was a slight slowdown on the 16.2% year-on-...


Home buyers gain in confidence

  Lower borrowing costs and cheaper house prices have oiled up the housing market, helping purchases overtake remortgages for the first time since 2007. The monthly mortgage index published by John Charcol revealed that purchases made up 53.4% of the mortgage adviser's...


Interest Rates latest....

The Bank of England has held interest rates at a record low of 0.5 per cent. Rates have plummeted from 5 per cent last October and the Bank's Monetary Policy Committee had been expected to keep the level unchanged. Meanwhile, the BoE said it will maintain its £125 billion...