Mortgage payments for new borrowers have almost halved as a proportion of disposable income, down from a peak of 48% in the third quarter of 2007 to 27% at the end of 2011. According to new Halifax research, repayments for both first-time buyers and home movers are swallowing up the smallest proportion of disposable income [...]
first time buyers
First time buyer number shrink
Low interest rates have helped make today’s first-time buyer mortgages the most affordable for nearly eight years, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML), with monthly interest payments now typically consuming only 12.3% of first-time buyer income. However, in October those new to home ownership took out just 16,400 loans, or 1% fewer than [...]
UK house prices need to fall further
The UK’s first-time buyers need anything between 10 and 19 years to save up for a deposit. The plight of would-be homeowners has been highlighted by InvestorBee, which has produced some pretty extensive research demonstrating the level of dedication needed to save the 20% deposit required for the better mortgage deals. According to the investment [...]
FTB stamp duty concession to end
There will be no extension to the existing stamp duty relief for first-time buyers, which ends on 24th March 2012. The temporary concession leaves first-time buyers free from the 1% stamp duty on homes costing under £250,000 and the threshold will revert to its previous level of £125,000. In yesterday’s Autumn Statement, Chancellor of the [...]
First-time buyer numbers fall
Sales to first-time buyers fell to their lowest level in almost three years during October, according to the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA). During the month, only 16% of transactions involved those new to home ownership, compared with 22% in September. The last time agents reported such a decrease was in December 2008, when [...]
Mortgage lending livens up in Scotland
House purchase lending in Scotland increased by 8% in the third quarter of 2011, according to new data from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML). There were 12,400 loans taken out (up from 11,500 in the previous quarter) of which 4,600 were advanced to first-time buyers. Home movers took out 7,800 loans, and there were [...]
UK housing market unlikely to recover
Backed by some grim statistics, a member of the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is arguing that the UK housing market is transforming rather than adjusting, and is unlikely to return to its former glory. Addressing the Northern Housing Consortium earlier this week, Professor David Miles pointed out that transaction levels have halved [...]
Mortgage lending slips
Loans for both house purchase and remortgage fell slightly in September, compared with August, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML). 48,200 mortgages were advanced for house purchase, worth £7.1 billion, down 2% by number and 5% by value compared to a month earlier, but up 3% year-on-year, by both number and value. There [...]
August mortgage lending lift
Homeowners continued to warm up to remortgaging in August, with data from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) showing 34,100 loans taken out worth £4.2 billion. Compared with a year earlier both volume and value were up 30%. House purchase lending also rose, with 52,000 loans advanced (worth £7.9 billion), up from 51,000 (worth £7.7 [...]
Mortgage lending loses ground
The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has produced another lackluster set of figures, this time illustrating the extent to which the UK housing market lost ground in the year to end-July. Compared with June, lending for house purchase rose by both volume and value in July, to 48,800 and £7.3 billion respectively, but both figures [...]
Scottish housing market manages seasonal spurt
House purchase lending in Scotland rose by more than the UK as a whole in the second quarter of 2011, according to new data from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML). Scottish home buyers secured 11,300 loans worth £1.3 billion, with the figures up 36% and 42% respectively, compared with the first three months of [...]
First-time buyers offered help with lousy credit scores
Halifax has teamed up with Experian to help potential first-time buyers who find that their credit score is blocking their chance of securing a mortgage. The lender currently approves eight out of ten mortgage applications from first-time buyers but wants to help unsuccessful applicants understand what has spoiled their chances and how to turn things [...]
Interest rate fears drive remortgaging surge
The first three months of the year saw a remortgaging surge, with activity accounting for 37% of the quarter’s lending (up from 30% in the previous quarter), the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) reports. In March, there were 33,900 loans for remortgage, up 16% compared to February and up 17% year-on-year, with the rise linked [...]
First-time buyer mortgage rates dip below 6%
The average mortgage rate for borrowers with a 10% deposit has dropped below 6% for the first time since March 2008. According to new research from Moneyfacts.co.uk, the rate on a typical two-year fix at 90% loan-to-value (LTV) currently stands at 5.98%, taking the cost of a mortgage down 0.4% compared with a year ago. [...]
House purchase lending shrinks 12%
Mortgage lending increased only slightly in February, despite a “particularly downbeat” January, the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) reports. There were 32,300 loans for house purchase, worth £4.6 billion. The figures were up 8% by volume and 5% by value from January but down 12% (by both volume and value) on an annual basis. Loans [...]
New shared equity scheme for first-time buyers
In today’s Budget, Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne announced help for first-time buyers in the form of a £250 million shared-equity scheme. Funded by income from the Bank Levy, the scheme aims to provide 10,000 families, as yet unable to raise the high deposits demanded by lenders, get onto the housing ladder. However, homes [...]
Asking prices up 0.8% in March
Housesellers coming to market increased asking prices by an average 0.8% in March, according to Rightmove. The typical home is being offered for sale at £231,790, up 0.9% on a year earlier, and new listings have risen 5%, compared with March 2010. However, the volume of properties put up for sale remains 26% down on [...]
Homebuyer demand weakens
The latest Property Tracker survey from the Building Societies’ Association (BSA) suggests that demand for property purchase may remain weak. The research indicates that 41% of people think that it would currently be a good time to buy, down from 43% in December, while 29% of respondents disagreed that it would be good to buy [...]
Councils support first-time buyers with deposit scheme
Councils are backing first-time buyers by providing help with deposits, the BBC has reported. Local Lend a Hand schemes are being launched by local authorities in Warrington, Northumberland, East Lothian, Blackpool and Newcastle-under-Lyme for potential first-time buyers who can afford monthly mortgage repayments but not a 25% deposit. Working with Lloyds TSB, the councils will [...]
January mortgage lending down 26%
Mortgage lending plummeted by 26% in January, compared with December, but the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) is keen to explain how an “unusual combination of factors” are to blame.
Putting aside seasonal factors, the lenders’ body reckons the impact of government spending cuts, rising inflation and new tax measures all “discouraged” potential house buyers.
Extreme weather [...]
House prices to fall 5% this year
UK house prices are expected to fall gradually in 2011, after losing ground overall in the latter months of 2010, according to a respected economic forecaster.
IHS Global Insight is predicting a decline of around 5%, with the value of the typical home losing around 10% from the peak seen in the first half of last [...]
Taylor Wimpey launches first-time buyer mortgage deal
Taylor Wimpey says it has negotiated an exclusive mortgage-guarantee scheme that can provide 95% loan-to-value mortgages for first-time buyers.
The house builder’s Take5 deal, backed by Melton Mowbray Building Society and Saffron Building Society, means that a two-bedroom home can be secured with a deposit of just £5,750, compared with the UK average of £28,770.
Loans are [...]
No “magic bullet” to normalise the mortgage market
The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has responded to a discussion initiated by Housing Minister, Grant Shapps, over the large deposits needed by first-time buyers, by pointing out that lending constraints currently apply to all those who don’t hold a large amount of equity in their homes.
The CML explains that high loan-to-value (LTV) lending is [...]
Mortgage lending stabilises in 2010
Mortgage lending stabilised in 2010 after “very sharp” falls in 2008 and 2009, the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has reported.
Over the whole of last year, there were 529,300 loans advanced for house purchase (worth £77.1 billion) up 3% by volume and 11% by value on a year earlier.
Loans for remortgage were at a [...]
Mortgage lending stable in November
Mortgage lending remained stable in November of last year, compared with October, with the UK’s banks and building societies advancing 44,000 loans for house purchase (worth £6.3 billion), according to new data from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML).
However, compared with a year earlier, the figures are down 15% by volume and 13% by [...]
