The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has kept UK interest rates on hold at 0.5%, and unveiled no new quantitative easing (QE) measures. Both decisions were expected, but it will not be clear whether they were unanimous until the minutes of the meeting are...
House prices in the UK rose by 1.8% in October compared with the previous month - but this followed a big drop a month earlier, the Halifax has said. The lender, part of the Lloyds Banking Group, said that the less volatile three-month on three-month comparison showed property...
Major banks have offered more evidence of a subdued mortgage market in the UK with budget uncertainties also keeping other lending low. The downward trend in the number of mortgage approvals for house purchases continued in September, the British Bankers' Association (BBA) said...
The Bank of England has held UK interest rates at a record low of 0.5% for the 19th consecutive month. The Monetary Policy Committee's (MPC) decision had been expected, despite repeated calls from one member to raise rates to combat inflation. The Bank also said it would not be...
There will be no revaluation of council tax bands in England during this Parliament, the government has pledged. It means there will be no rise in local taxes for householders based solely on the increased value of their homes. Every property in England is in one of eight council...
The cost of mortgages is continuing to fall and they are becoming more accessible to some borrowers, according to figures from Moneyfacts. Data from September shows that the number of home loans available with a 20% deposit has risen, but availability has dropped for those...
House price inflation in England and Wales has slowed, according to the latest figures from the Land Registry. Although prices rose by 0.4% in July, the annual rate of increase fell back from 8.5% to 6.7%. The figures chime with those of other surveys which have also suggested...
The number of homes repossessed by mortgage lenders fell again in the second quarter of the year. Lenders seized 9,400 properties in April, May and June, 400 fewer than in the first quarter of 2010, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML). Repossessions have now fallen...
The number of homes sold in the UK in June rose by 21% from May to 86,000, HM Revenue & Customs has said. The sales figures were the highest this year and were up 15% on the same month last year. It means sales in the first half of 2010 have been 21% higher than in the first...
UK homeowners increased the value of their stakes in their properties by £3.2bn in the first three months of 2010, figures show. The injection was slightly lower than the £3.4bn increase of the last quarter of 2009, the Bank of England's figures reveal. The rise was...
House prices rose again in June but only by 0.1%, according to the Nationwide building society. The rise follows a 0.5% increase in May, with the average property in the UK now costing more than £170,000. Prices have risen by 3% since the start of the year, the Nationwide's...
Mortgage lending continued its spring rise into May, according to the British Bankers' Association (BBA). The number of mortgages approved for house purchases rose to its highest level so far this year. A total of 36,709 loans were approved by the major banks for people buying a...
More homes are being put up for sale in England and Wales because of the abolition of Home Information Packs (Hips), surveyors say. The latest survey from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) found a "sharp increase" in new instructions from would-be...
The coalition government has suspended the use of Home Information Packs (HIPs) by home sellers. HIPs were introduced in 2007 in England and Wales. The aim was to speed up the house selling process by obliging sellers to provide much of the required conveyancing information when...
The Bank of England is all but certain to leave interest rates at 0.5 percent and not to undertake any further quantitative easing purchases when it concludes its Monetary Policy Committee meeting on Monday. Growth data released over the past month has been a touch weaker than...
UK homeowners increased the value of their stake in their properties by £22.3bn last year, Bank of England figures show. They reflect continued decisions by homeowners to pay off more of their mortgages, and lenders' insistence that borrowers put down large deposits. The...
24Mar
Stamp Duty Cut
Chancellor Alistair Darling has axed stamp duty on house sales under £250,000 for first time buyers in the final Budget before a general election. The stamp duty cut will be funded through the introduction of a new higher stamp duty band of 5% on properties costing more...
First-time buyers faced house prices that were 8.9% higher in January than a year earlier, government figures show...
A position has become available, initially on a six month contract for a part time negotiator based in the office as maternity cover. Office hours would be Thursday and Friday 9.30am-6.00pm and Saturdays on a rota basis. Applicants should be smart, friendly and enthusiastic...
The number of mortgages that the UK's biggest banks agreed with home buyers "fell sharply" in January, the British Bankers' Association (BBA) has said. The BBA said many buyers had borrowed in December to beat the re-introduction of a lower stamp duty threshold. The BBA...
Activity in the UK housing market was frozen by the snowy weather in January, although prices continued to rise, according to surveyors. Buying and selling activity fell during the month owing to the extreme weather conditions, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics...