In a new report, the Bank of England notes a “modest” increase in housing market activity since the start of the year, beyond what was expected. However, according to the Bank’s agent contacts, the market has been catching-up from a particularly subdued late 2011 while being bolstered by the ending of the stamp duty concession, [...]
Bank of England
Housing market horizons end with stamp duty concession
In a new report, the Bank of England notes a “modest” increase in housing market activity since the start of the year, beyond what was expected. However, according to the Bank’s agent contacts, the market has been catching-up from a particularly subdued late 2011 while being bolstered by the ending of the stamp duty concession, [...]
Mortgaged lending stagnates
Mortgage lending continued to flat line in November, with approvals for house purchases at 52,854, Bank of England figures show. The total showed little change on October’s but managed to stay above the previous six-month average (50,266). Remortgaging activity declined, with lenders approving only 31,154 home loans in November, compared with a previous six-month average [...]
Mortgaged lending stagnates
Mortgage lending continued to flat line in November, with approvals for house purchases at 52,854, Bank of England figures show. The total showed little change on October’s but managed to stay above the previous six-month average (50,266). Remortgaging activity declined, with lenders approving only 31,154 home loans in November, compared with a previous six-month average [...]
House purchase mortgage approvals nudge ahead
New figures from the Bank of England show a £0.7 billion rise in mortgage lending in July, with the figure up 0.1% compared with June but failing to meet the previous six-month average increase of £0.9 billion. Reflecting the overall stagnation in the housing market, the three-month annualised growth rate in new lending decreased 0.1% [...]
House purchase lending slips in April
UK lenders approved 45,166 mortgages for house purchases in April, Bank of England figures show. The total compares with 47,145 homebuyer loans sanctioned in March, and a previous six-month average of 46,179. In addition, remortgaging approvals declined to 28,091, as fears over interest rate rises subsided (March: 31,201; previous six-month average 32,534). According to the [...]
Mortgage rate threat recedes
Homeowners should benefit from another reprieve on interest rates this month, with the Governor of the Bank of England having warned that rate hikes would only worsen the “massive” economic challenges faced by highly indebted economies. Addressing the European Parliament’s Systemic Risk Board yesterday, Mr King said: “The economic consequences of high-level indebtedness now would [...]
BoE: Mortgage approvals up in March
The Bank of England has today revealed mortgage approvals rose in March. According to the Bank, there were 44,000 loans approved in the month, up from February’s 43,000. However, the figure remains well below the 51,000 approved in the same month a year ago. The figures come a day after the Council of Mortgage Lenders [...]
Borrowers pay back more of their mortgages
Homeowners appear to be taking advantage of low interest rates after Bank of England figures showed borrowers paid a record £24 billion last year. According to the Bank, homeowners paid back more than £24 billion to lenders last year – the highest since records began in 1970. Meanwhile, £7 billion was paid back in the [...]
Mortgage availability to increase
In its latest Credit Conditions Survey, the Bank of England reports that mortgage lenders expect the availability of home loans to increase during the second quarter of 2011. However, a negative outlook for house prices and, to a lesser extent, the economy in general is likely to rein in recovery of the market. The quarterly [...]
Rise in home-buyer mortgage approvals
Mortgage approvals for house purchases rose to 46,967 in February, Bank of England figures show. The total compares with 45,723 approvals for January and is slightly ahead of the previous six-month average of 46,413. Approvals for remortgaging increased to 35,725 (January 33,498), also showing an improvement on the previous six-month average of 31,674. Meanwhile, approvals [...]
Pressure for interest rate rises mounts
Pressure is mounting on the Governor of the Bank of England over interest rate rises as inflation, as measured by the Consumer Prices Index which excludes housing costs, rises to 4%.
Mervyn King is obliged to write to the Chancellor of the Exchequer when inflation exceeds the Government’s target of 2% and in his latest letter [...]
New mortgage lending shrinks
New mortgage lending shrank in December, by £0.3 billion, compared to a rise £0.5 billion in November and a previous six-month average of plus £0.6 billion, according to Bank of England figures.
The number of loans approved for house purchase declined to 42,563, down from 47,287 in November, and compared with a previous six-month average [...]
BoE governor committed to low interest rates
As homeowners on lenders’ standard variable rates increasingly seek out fixed-rate deals to offset the threat of a rise in the base rate, the Governor of the Bank of England has reaffirmed his commitment to keeping interest rates low.
Speaking in Newcastle last night, Mervyn King admitted that inflation could rise to 5% during 2011 (currently [...]
Base rate on hold at 0.5%
The Bank of England has announced that the base rate will remain on hold at 0.5% in January.
The Bank’s rate-setting Monetary Policy Committee has resisted any need to raise interest rates, despite the Consumer Prices Index measure of inflation increasing to 3.3% in November.
The UK’s official level of inflation has now been running above the [...]
Mortgage demand weakens
Lenders have report that demand for house purchase mortgages fell “markedly” in the three months to December, with the trend expected to continue over the current quarter.
According to the Bank of England’s latest Credit Conditions Survey, the decline reflected “a recent fall in house prices, a general weakening of sentiment towards the housing [...]
Sharp rise in remortgaging approvals
Mortgage lending rose by £0.8 billion in November, with the rate of increase falling back from £1.2 billion in October but remaining slightly above the previous six-month average of £0.7 billion.
The number of approvals for house purchases stood at 48,019 – volumes were up slightly on October and held their own against a previous [...]
Interest rates to “normalise” at around 5%
The UK’s homeowners should begin to prepare for higher interest rates, a Bank of England official has warned.
In an interview with The Daily Telegraph, the bank’s executive director for markets, Paul Fisher, stated that rates need to return to a “normalised” position of around 5%.
Mr Fisher, who is a member of the Bank’s rate-setting Monetary [...]
