House purchase loans fell by more than three times the decline in remortgages in January, latest figures have indicated. Latest figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders CML clearly highlight the... read more

Lloyds Banking Group has launched a new scheme allowing all homeowners to overpay on their mortgage by up to 20 per cent without incurring a penalty charge. The bank says it will run the scheme for one... read more

Britannia and The Co-operative Bank are to jointly launch a new three-year tracker and a five-year capped rate mortgage. The banks, which are making the deals available from Friday March 19th, have described... read more

The UK property market is experiencing its slowest March in recorded history, Rightmove has claimed. Prices have reached a virtual standstill, the firm has reported, with new sellers asking for just £216... read more

A drop of £300 in income would cause one in four people to default on their mortgage payments, it has been reported. Research conducted by Callcredit, which interviewed professionals in the 35-44... read more

A new mortgage product range has been launched by The Mortgage Works – a subsidiary of Nationwide Building Society – which allows a guarantor to cover up to 30 per cent of the purchase loan. The... read more

The remortgage market has returned to strength during the first two months of 2010, it has been reported. According to the John Charcol Index, purchases took only 47.3 per cent of mortgages sold by the... read more

Additional market competition has led to the emergence of cheaper mortgage rates, according to one lender. Andy Pratt, chief operating officer at Alexander Hall, said confidence is gradually returning... read more

Housing market supply is once again outstripping demand, according to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors Rics. The organisation says new instructions outpaced buyer interest for a second consecutive... read more

Northern Rock has launched two new issues of its fixed-rate bond which offer guaranteed savings interest rates of at least 3.15 per cent. The state-owned bank offers the rate to one year bonds, or a higher... read more

The increasing tendency among lenders to offer higher loan-to-values is a positive sign for those seeking cheap mortgage rates, it has been claimed. Ben Wilkie, editor of What Mortgage, said the market... read more

Homeowners on tracker deals should remain on cheap mortgage deals for at least another month after the Bank of England chose to freeze interest rates once again. The Bank's Monetary Policy Committee held... read more

It is worrying how many people are missing out on cheaper mortgage rates through ignorance over their current repayment costs, according to one expert. Ray Boulger, senior technical manager at mortgage... read more

At least three million UK borrowers do not know the rate of interest at which they are currently repaying their mortgage, it has been reported. Post Office Mortgages reports that 28 per cent are ignorant... read more

The Co-operative Financial Services has added a new two-year fixed-rate deal to its mortgage range. Available through both the Co-operative Bank and Britannia, interest rates of 3.19 per cent are accessible... read more

Homeowners seeking cheap mortgages can go one better with Santander this month, as the lender is offering lucky competition winners the chance to win free repayments for a whole year. Consumers applying... read more

Banks need to be more willing to lend if the availability of cheap mortgages is to improve, it has been suggested. According to Catherine Hearnden, director of MyMortgageDirect, increased loan-to-value... read more

UK house prices have fallen for the first time since the second quarter of 2009, it has been reported. Latest figures from Nationwide indicate that prices fell by one per cent during February after nine... read more

Yorkshire Building Society has given a further boost to the UK property market by signalling its intention to step up its mortgage lending over the remainder of 2010. The country's second-largest mutual,... read more

Updating existing legislation to allow more online estate agents to compete in the property market would create better deals for homeowners and buyers, it has been claimed. According to the Office of Fair... read more

Plans to allow additional online competition in the mortgage industry have been backed by Briffy.com. David Amstell, founder of the property website, said such a development could help keep prices in check,... read more

House buyers unable to secure cheap mortgages could be part of the reason for a future dip in the housing market. This is according to Kate Barker, policymaker and housing market expert at the Bank of... read more

Mortgage lending will recover in time, but it is likely to remain at current levels of decline for the next few months, one lender has claimed. Timothy Lambert, head of consulting at Ducalian, was commenting... read more

High street lender Halifax has celebrated the 21st anniversary of the fixed-rate mortgage by launching a new product. The bank has introduced a new 21-month fixed-rate deal which allows homeowners to guarantee... read more

The Post Office has announced the upcoming launch of a new range of 75 per cent loan-to-value LTV mortgages, aimed at enabling more first-time buyers get a foot on the property ladder. The new range,... read more

Gross mortgage lending stood at £9.1 billion for the first month of the new decade, newly-released figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders CML show. This represents a 32 per cent fall in lending... read more

The number of borrowers applying for mortgages is expected to keep on rising as confidence returns to the UK housing market. That is the picture painted by the latest Paragon Mortgages' Financial Adviser... read more

Skipton International has launched a new fixed-rate sterling account paying 3.5 per cent gross per annum. The Guernsey-based savings and mortgages provider requires a minimum deposit of £10,000 to... read more

Norwich & Peterborough Building Society N&P has introduced the third issue of its E-Saver account, which currently pays 2.55 per cent in interest. The savings account has a standard variable... read more

Further criticism for proposed additional regulation in the buy-to-let market has been offered by the Council of Mortgage Lenders CML. The organisation has backed the Treasury's plan to extend regulation... read more

The government should think again over plans to regulate buy-to-let mortgages, it has been suggested. According to the Building Societies Association BSA, any such move would be to the detriment of investment... read more

The cold snap in January contributed to a fall in completed property transactions, it has been reported. According to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors Rics, buyer interest and instructions... read more

High street lender Santander has reduced the rates on its five-year fixed mortgages by up to 0.25 per cent. Aiming to offer cheap mortgage rates, the firm has made its 70 per cent loan-to-value LTV product... read more

Buy-to-let remortgaging activity continued to decline during the final quarter of 2009, it has been reported. According to research conducted by Paragon Mortgages, 30 per cent of landlords remortgaged... read more

Tracker rates fell to a record low during January, offering a boost to consumers seeking cheap mortgage rates. According to the Bank of England – which began keeping records on the product in 1997... read more

Platform - the intermediary mortgage specialist of The Co-operative Bank - has reduced the rates on both its fixed and tracker deals. The lender is now offering two-year fixed rates from 3.59 per cent... read more

The Co-operative Financial Services has reduced its mortgage rates by up to 0.55 per cent, it has been announced. From Wednesday February 10th, customers of both Britannia and The Co-operative Bank will... read more

The Mortgage Works has launched a new range of stepped buy-to-let tracker mortgage products. Unique to the buy-to-let market, the deals offer cheap mortgage rates from the Bank of England base rate plus... read more

The number of 90 per cent loan-to-value LTV mortgages on the market has increased by 26 per cent in the past month, it has been reported. Research conducted by Moneyfacts indicates that there were 144... read more

The decision of the Bank of England to freeze its base rate is "good news" for mortgagees on tracker and standard variable rate deals, it has been suggested. Yesterday it was announced that interest... read more

The mortgage market could be left with a £300 billion shortfall in funding by 2014, it has been claimed. According to the Council of Mortgage Lenders CML, the gap is currently being filled by government... read more

Leeds Building Society has launched a new two-year fixed-rate mortgage offering a rate of 3.45 per cent. The deal – which is available at up to 60 per cent loan-to-value LTV - has no higher lending... read more

The average price of houses across the UK is predicted to rise by more than six per cent this year, according to the Centre for Economic and Business Research. It claims that by 2014, prices are likely... read more

Santander is launching two new 70 per cent loan-to-value LTV mortgages, it has been announced. Two-year tracker and two-year fixed rate deals are now available at all branches, offering rates of 2.49... read more

The Council of Mortgage Lenders CML has predicted a slow January and February in terms of housing market activity. According to the organisation, the end of the stamp duty concession appears to have... read more

The UK witnessed a slight dip in the number of mortgages approved for home purchase during December 2009. According to the Bank of England, approvals stood at 59,023, down from 60,045 in November - but... read more

House prices rose for the ninth month in a row during January, latest figures have indicated. In news of interest to consumers seeking cheap mortgage rates, Nationwide found that the average UK house price... read more

The proposals to protect mortgage holders in arrears are "very reasonable", according to one mortgage lender. Earlier this week, the Financial Services Authority FSA announced measures including... read more

The house price rises seen throughout the last decade are unsustainable, it has been claimed. According to a new report from Halifax, the average property increased in value by 105 per cent in the 2000s,... read more

Mortgage lending strengthened slightly in December, the British Bankers' Association BBA has reported. The organisation says gross lending was inflated by some borrowers pushing through purchases ahead... read more

A package of measures designed to ensure fair treatment for mortgage holders in arrears has been set out. The Financial Services Authority FSA has reinforced its tough stance in the battle against mortgage... read more

November saw house buyers use less of their household income to cover their interest payments than at any time since 2005, latest figures have indicated. According to the Council of Mortgage Lenders CML,... read more

Yorkshire Building Society has beefed up its first-time buyer range with the launch of a new member-exclusive mortgage for those with a smaller deposit. The new offering is a five-year fixed rate at 6.49... read more

Woolwich has reduced its tracker mortgage rates for the sixth time in succession over the last few months. The lender knocked a further 0.2 per cent off its range, which includes trackers at up to 70 per... read more

Almost one million homeowners on tracker or fixed-rate mortgages could be looking to remortgage in the next six months, it has been claimed. According to Santander Mortgage's Remo Index, which monitors... read more

Consumers seeking cheap mortgages should note that the Post Office has reduced the price of its two, three and five-year fixed-rate deals for 60 per cent loan-to-value LTV offerings. Tracker deals for... read more

Gross mortgage lending reached an estimated £13.7 billion in December, up 14 per cent from the £12.1 billion recorded in November. According to the Council of Mortgage Lenders CML, this also... read more

Many parents are raiding their savings accounts to help their children take advantage of the housing market slump, it has been reported. According to Lloyds TSB, some 23 per cent of parents have, or plan... read more

The Financial Services Authority FSA is proposing that mortgage lenders will have to carry out more comprehensive credit checks on potential borrowers. Increased credit checks will need to be carried... read more

Over 60s are increasingly taking note of debt advice to reduce the amount they owe, it has been reported. According to Key Retirement Solutions, more senior homeowners are using equity release to settle... read more

Like most areas within the finance sector, the mortgage market has been far from recession proof and since most of us need a roof over our heads, the fallout has been far reaching and devastating. But what difference will phasing out the self cert mortgage make now?... read more

HSBC is to make another £500 million available to home buyers requiring a 90 per cent loan to value mortgage in 2009. The bank has reached the £1 billion it committed to lending earlier this... read more

The government should take action to ensure consumers can get access to affordable mortgages, according to the Trades Union Congress TUC. Commenting after the Land Registry House Price Index indicated... read more

The property market remains "fairly flat" in England and Wales, according to the Land Registry. It has recorded an annual drop of 9.4 per cent, up from the low of 16.3 per cent seen in February,... read more

To fix or not to fix? Mortgage experts are encouraging all homeowners on standard variable rates or coming to the end of their fixed or tracker rates to remortgage on to a fixed mortgage rate and secure the monthly payments before the bank base rate starts to rise. But is now the best time?... read more

Lenders are not reducing their fixed-rate mortgages despite the fact that the Libor rate has come down to a very low figure, it has been claimed. Commenting after the John Charcol Monthly Mortgage Index... read more

Clydesdale and Yorkshire Banks has today Friday September 25th launched a new range of mortgage products. The discounted variable deals, available to new and existing mortgage customers at both banks,... read more

Leeds Building Society has launched a new range of two-year base rate tracker BRT mortgages, starting from an interest rate of 3.2 per cent. The society is also introducing a new two-year non-locked... read more

Mansfield Building Society has announced the launch of a new 100 per cent mortgage for first-time buyers. Limited to people purchasing shared ownership properties through South Yorkshire Housing Association... read more

House prices have risen by 0.6 per cent this month, according to Rightmove. The firm's latest monthly house price index found the market was strengthened by the south-east, although stock levels were at... read more

Total mortgage lending in the UK hit £12.6 billion in August, according to new figures. Data from the Council of Mortgage Lenders CML shows the total was down 13 per cent on the revised figure for... read more

Professional landlords are struggling to find buy-to-let mortgage finance, new research has found. According to Paragon's Trends research, more than 50 per cent of professional landlords sought out a buy-to-let... read more

Homebuyers are benefitting from the increase in residential stamp duty threshold, according to Halifax. The mortgage provider claims that one in three homebuyers have benefited since the threshold was... read more

First time buyers are unlikely to benefit from the 1.98 per cent one-year tracker mortgage being introduced by Woolwich, it has been claimed. Ben Wilkie, editor at What Mortgage, suggested that it is more... read more

Woolwich has announced plans to reduce the cost of some of its most popular mortgage products. The lender is now offering a one-year tracker mortgage at 1.98 per cent – the Barclays base rate plus... read more

The launch of HSBC's 1.99 per cent mortgage deal has seen consumer interest in the bank's offerings increase significantly. Online traffic has doubled since the product was unveiled on September 1st and... read more

Property prices are "already recovering", according to one expert, despite reports from the Ernst & Young ITEM Club that they will stagnate for a further two years. Gary Smith, president... read more

The deposits demanded by lenders have been dropping month by month during the third quarter of 2009, it has been reported. According to Mortgageforce, the average demanded from a first time buyer was 28.6... read more

The percentage of disposable income spent by the average family on repaying a mortgage has fallen by 40 per cent in under two years, according to Halifax. While mortgage repayments accounted for 29 per... read more

House prices have turned positive for the first time in two years, a new market survey has found. According to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors Rics, the net balance of such professionals... read more

Commentators place too much emphasis on the setting of the base rate when assessing the cost of mortgage products, a leading industry body has suggested. According to the Council of Mortgage Lenders CML,... read more

Market forces have led to a reduction in the number of home repossessions in the UK, it has been reported. According to Paul Smith, chief executive of haart estate agency, the end of the recession is coming... read more

House prices increased by 0.8 per cent last month, according to the August 2009 Halifax house price index. This was the second successive monthly rise and the fourth in the first eight months of 2009,... read more

The Council of Mortgage Lenders CML has backed a new initiative designed to help struggling homeowners meet their mortgage payments. A new information campaign has been launched to help borrowers stay... read more

The increased costs involved in letting out property are causing many landlords to reconsider their future in the business, it has been suggested. According to Mark Butterworth, a director at the Residential... read more

A new offset tracker mortgage which follows the Bank of England base rate plus 2.29 per cent has been launched by first direct. The product is currently priced at 2.79 per cent 2.9 per cent APR with... read more

The number of fixed-rate mortgages that come with a percentage fee has increased by 14 per cent in the past year, new figures show. Research from MoneyExpert.com reveals that fees of up to £2,499... read more

New entrants are needed to stimulate the UK buy-to-let mortgage market, it has been claimed. Michael Aglony, marketing manager at Mortgages for Business, said the number of products on the market has reduced... read more

First-time buyers with a large enough deposit have some "excellent opportunities" to establish a foothold on the housing ladder at present, it has been claimed. Jon Brown, partner relationship... read more

The treasury has confirmed that the stamp duty holiday on properties costing under £175,000 will be extended until the end of the year, despite concerns from estate agents and mortgage specialists... read more

HSBC is offering a 1.99 per cent interest rate on its latest two-year discount loan, available to home buyers who are able to place a 40 per cent deposit on their new home. A second two year discount mortgage... read more

A recently reported rise in the number of homeowners taking out variable-rate deals should come as no surprise, it has been claimed. John Charcol revealed last week that variable-rate deals accounted for... read more

The Ministry of Justice has launched a series of online guidance for homeowners in danger of repossession. Videos and articles that detail information about the court process and how to seek advice are... read more

Lending activity in Scotland began to stabilise in the second quarter of 2009, according to latest figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders CML. Some 11,400 house purchase loans were taken out in... read more

House prices rose 1.6 per cent in August, according to building society Nationwide. The fourth consecutive increase in its house price index saw the average home's value increase to £160,224, the... read more

More than a third of homeowners with property on the market are not prepared to lower their asking price in order to secure a sale, it has been reported. Research conducted by Co-operative Bank Mortgages... read more

A reported rise in mortgage approvals should give consumers the confidence they need to go out and purchase a property, it has been suggested. Catherine Hearnden, director of MyMortgageDirect, said that... read more

Mortgage approvals for homes made by the major high-street banks rose to their highest level for 17 months in July, latest figures have indicated. According to the British Bankers' Association BBA, the... read more

The government should take action to prevent a future boom in house prices, it has been claimed. Speaking after the Lombard Street Research/Daily Telegraph housing affordability index indicated that housing... read more

Home information packs HIPs purchased from estate agents can often cost over twice as much as those bought from a specialist, according to a leading consumer group. Which? reports that the gap between... read more