UK Mortgage & Property Related News
Mortgage rate cuts are being announced on an almost daily basis as lenders continue to reprice their home loan deals.
Barclays and TSB are the latest banks to announce mortgage rate cuts. TSB says its deals will reduce by up to 0.4 percentage points from tomorrow.
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Navigating the mortgage market can be daunting — we spoke to a finance expert to get some advice that could make all the difference.
In an interview with Yahoo Finance Future Focus, Islay Robinson, CEO of Enness Global finance brokers, offered guidance for those seeking a mortgage.
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During the recent general election campaign, one key point of difference in the parties’ housing policies was that the Conservative Party pledged to introduce a new Help to Buy scheme, whereas Labour proposed alternative housing policies, largely focused on social rent.
Now elected, Labour is already pushing ahead with housing initiatives including greater powers and flexibilities in the Affordable Homes Programme, increased local authority funding for housing (to be announced in the next Budget) and changes to the Right to Buy.
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A growing number of homeowners have turned their attention to mortgage overpayments as they look to fight back against higher interest rates.
Santander, one of Britain’s biggest mortgage lenders, reported a 78pc rise in the amount overpaid by its customers between 2022 and 2023 – but it’s not always the best course of action.
Paying extra on your loan repayments can reduce the interest being clawed back by your lender and speed up the process of becoming mortgage-free.
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First-time buyers could now be able to secure bigger mortgages when applying with Halifax.
The mortgage lender announced today that it is making £2billion available for first-time buyers who need to borrow up to 5.5 times their annual income.
To be eligible for what Halifax is calling its ‘First-time buyer boost,’ buyers will need a total household income of £50,000 or more, which will need to come from employment.
They will also need to be purchasing a property with a deposit of at least 10 per cent.
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Rightmove says the average first-time buyer mortgage payment is nearly £150 lower than the mortgage rate peak in July 2023.
Rightmove’s weekly mortgage tracker shows how average mortgage rates have decreased since the peak in July 2023. The average monthly mortgage payment for a typical first-time buyer is now £949, compared with £1,096 in July 2023, a saving of nearly £150 (£147), or 13%.
The number of mortgages approved reached a near two-year high, according to Bank of England figures, as hopes of cheaper borrowing encouraged would-be buyers.
Mortgage approvals increased to 62,000 in July, a level not seen since September 2022, a sign that buyers were waiting for hopes of reduced interest rates and the associated lower mortgage bills.
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Mojo Mortgages’ data has revealed that extending a mortgage from 25 to 35 years can cost the average first-time buyer an extra £87,180.
John Fraser-Tucker, head of mortgages at Mojo, says: “Our research has found with the current average mortgage rate for a two-year fix (75% LTV) at 5.44%, the total cost of an average-priced house (£285,000) varies significantly on the loan term.
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According to the survey, 34.8% of UK adults believe buying a home is more challenging and stressful than selling, with 27.8% claiming it to be the other way round. The remainder didn’t know.
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Soaring rates have made mortgages a hot topic in the UK. Despite this, the phrase ‘what is a mortgage?’ receives an average of 4,400 Google searches per month, indicating that many people are still confused about the subject. So, how many people actually understand certain mortgage-related terms, and how many are left scratching their heads?
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