UK Mortgage & Property Related News
This tip works because you end up reducing the amount of money you have to pay in interest, which can build up over the years. But by making overpayments, you can cut down the extra cash you need to pay and reduce the length of your mortgage term.
Read More
Private renters and landlords make up a significant portion of the UK electorate. With this in mind, it should come as no surprise that politicians have been appealing for their votes as we race towards a general election on 4 July.
Around 35% of people in England live in rented accommodation, according to the latest English Housing Survey. Sixteen percent are in social housing, while 19% are in private rented accommodation.
Meanwhile, around 13% of people in Scotland and Wales are private renters, versus 16% in Northern Ireland. It should be noted that a lack of regular data in Wales and Northern Ireland means we have to rely on information from the 2021 Census, so these figures could have shifted slightly since then.
Meanwhile, there are currently around 2.82 million private landlords in the UK, based on income tax data from HMRC. That amounts to around 4% of the population.
Against this backdrop, we look at the key policies each major party has promised when it comes to buy-to-let landlords and renters. How will a Labour or Conservative win affect you?
Read More
Homebuyers and remortgagers spend more time choosing home appliances than digesting mortgage deals, a study claims, as homeowners report the fast-paced mortgage market is making them stressed.
A sixth of homeowners said they felt pressured into making a quick mortgage decision due to the rapidly changing market, according to research by Smart Money People, with 57 per cent reporting that they felt stressed as a result.
A quarter of buyers and remortgagers said the mortgage process had left them confused.
On average, homeowners spent less than half a day looking at mortgage options before diving into a deal, Smart Money People said – this is less time than they spend considering which coffee machine or air fryer to buy.
Read More
Nearly 2.2 million people won’t be able to access the Government bonus on their Help To Buy Isas, according to a freedom of information request.
Savers only stand to benefit from the 25 per cent bonus if they purchase a property worth £250,000 or less outside of London, or £450,000 in London.
Due to house price rises since the accounts were created in 2015, more savers will now find themselves disqualified from the bonus.
According to the FOI request by the comparison site Finder, Britons have stashed a collective £5.5billion into these accounts.
Help to Buy Isas were introduced in 2015 to try and help people get on the property ladder. However, they were closed to new customers in November 2019, in favour of the Lifetime Isa.
The key benefit of the Help to Buy Isa came from the fact the Government would provide a 25 per cent top up at the point of purchasing a home.
But the £250,000 property price cap outside the capital, is now far more of a limiting factor for its stranded customers than it was in 2015.
Since then, the average house price has increased by 38 per cent, yet the limit has never increased.
Read More
Rightmove house price index.
Data from the property website shows that the average price of a house being listed dropped by just £21 in June — statistically giving a zero percent change on the previous month.
This means the average asking price of a property for sale is now £375,110, broadly the same as May, which was a record high. Rightmove says this follows seasonal patterns of prices stagnating at this time of year, with election uncertainty adding to this summer lull.
This national average masks considerable regional differences though. Rightmove says there is stronger growth in northern regions where property prices are lower. Five of the six cheapest regions have reached new price records, while the higher-priced East of England and London lag behind, according to its data.
Read More
While mortgage market health is currently being driven by those looking to remortgage, there’s unlikely to be a resurgence in activity until rates start to fall.
This is according to Octane Capital chief executive Jonathan Samuels who points out that gross lending has sunk to its lowest since interest rates increased, driven by a reduction in house purchase lending.
The latest market analysis by Octane Capital has looked at gross mortgage lending by sector and how this figure has changed both quarterly and over the last year.
The analysis of gross mortgage lending figures from the Building Society Association shows that total mortgage lending sat at just £50.5bn during the first quarter of 2024, the lowest level seen since interest rates started to climb in December 2013.
Read More
Mortgage rates are not directly set by the government but rather by lenders influenced from factors such as the Bank of England base rate of interest and general Inflation. Events such as elections can impact interest rates due to the uncertainty.
Data from Mojo Mortgages helps us to understand the changes in mortgage rates since the announcement of the election 2024.
Read More
The buy-to-let (BTL) market has changed significantly in the last few years, largely due to a number of economic factors which have made BTL investments less beneficial for non-professional landlords.
Up until very recently, a large number of BTL investors were those who had inherited homes, or had held on to previous properties when moving – dubbed as the ‘accidental’ landlords.
Casual investors also looked favourably at BTL properties as a way to boost their income, especially heading into retirement. High house price growth, stable borrowing costs, attractive rental yields and tax reliefs made BTL properties a relatively safe option for non-professional landlords.
Read More
The Bank of England is expected to hold interest rates at 5.25% for a seventh time when it meets on Thursday.
UK inflation hit the Bank’s target of 2% in May, but rates are not expected to come down until the Bank is confident that price rises are stable.
Interest rates affect mortgage, credit card and savings rates for millions of people across the UK.
Read More
More homeowners are behind on their mortgages than anytime in the last seven year, according to the Bank of England’s latest data report.
The financial squeeze left from the pandemic and rising cost of living have left many struggling to cover basic expenses, let alone repay debts.
The bank’s report for Q1, 2024 showed that mortgage balances in arrears rose by 4.2 per cent compared to the previous quarter, totalling a staggering £21.3billion.
This is also a staggering 44.5 percent increase from a year earlier.
Additionally, the proportion of total loan balances with arrears relative to all outstanding balances increased from the last quarter from 1.23 per cent to 1.28 per cent.
This is now at the highest level since the final quarter of 2016.
On the other hand, the outstanding value of all residential mortgage loans fell by 0.1 per cent from the previous quarter, marking a 1.4 per cent decrease compared to a year ago.
This saw it falling 1.4 per cent compared to a year ago with the total monetary value of outstanding mortgages currently sitting at £1,654.9bn.
A borrower falls into mortgage arrears when they miss their mortgage payments, which is also recorded on their credit file.
Read More