House price optimism is rising as more than a third (35 per cent) of home-movers expect prices to be higher in 12 months’ time, the highest level since the third quarter of 2010. House price confidence is strongly influenced by the mortgage market as both ‘price optimists’ (who expect house prices to rise) and ‘price [...]

Continue reading " Rightmove’s House Price Optimism "

A total of 9,600 properties were repossessed in the UK in the first quarter of 2012, according to new figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML). This is roughly the same as this time last year, but a slight rise on the previous quarter and breaks a recent trend of year-on-year increases. The latest [...]

Continue reading " Ten thousand UK homes repossessed in first quarter "

With the Olympics in London, lettings agents across the country are getting excited about the chance to cash in on the rental opportunities.  Sol Campbell has put his home on the market and rents are tripling in the areas around Stratford. But some agents are reporting hundreds of properties on their books with no-one to [...]

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You have to take statistics with a pinch of salt at the best of times, but when people start getting worked up about fractions of a percent, it gets ridiculous. Latest pumped up drama over a tadpole piece of news is from Quick Move Now, seizing on a fall of 0.2 per cent in house [...]

Continue reading " House Prices Are Falling (but only a bit) "

The first-time buyer share of the housing market has shown a small recovery in recent months. But estate agents fear that the recent ending of a two-year stamp duty concession for first-time buyers could disrupt the market further. Peter Turner, Experian Interactive managing director said: “In spite of difficulties across the country in getting that [...]

Continue reading " Hotspots For First-time Homebuyers "

City Residential estate agent in Liverpool has seen a marked increase in repossession numbers during the first quarter of 2012. The agency noted this hike came out of the blue, despite detecting a small rise in the company’s review of the last three-month period of 2011. The report stated: “Whilst we expected to see this [...]

Continue reading " Repossessions Rise in Liverpool "

An estimated 1.5 million such loans worth around £120bn are due for repayment in the next decade but with lenders much stricter about their lending criteria, there are fears that many will struggle to find another deal. A string of lenders recently slashed the amount which can be borrowed on an interest-only mortgage to just [...]

Continue reading " Interest Only Mortgages on the Decline "

Almost 40 per cent of respondents to the latest Halifax housing market confidence tracker believe house prices will generally increase over the next year, almost double the 20 per cent who predict they will fall. Researchers said this is the most positive view since the quarterly series began 12 months ago, with Londoners the most [...]

Continue reading " House Price Confidence at 12-Month High "

Countrywide Building Society believes that home ownership could be in terminal decline. “We could see the next generation becoming a nation of renters without the right intervention from Government,” says Grenville Turner, Chief Executive of Countrywide. Asked why they don’t move home, 62 per cent said they were happy where they live, 21 per cent [...]

Continue reading " Countrywide Fears ‘Generation of Renters’ "

From May 2012, the Mayor of London will be responsible for the capital’s entire house-building budget – over a third of the national pot of money – and significant public land to build on. Currently, the mayor can only build new homes by working with the Homes and Communities Agency, the London Development Agency, boroughs [...]

Continue reading " Mayor of London gets Housing Brief "