Employment is likely to be down 10% by the end of the year, while normality isn’t expected to return for at least a year, according to a Bank of England survey of UK firms. This is more optimistic than the month before, when it was thought jobs would fall by 18%. Companies reckon employment was […]
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Halifax, HSBC, NatWest and Virgin Money have all altered their lending policies. Yesterday Virgin Money increased mortgage rates by up to 0.49% on 2, 3, and 5-year fixes to 90% LTV with a £995 fee, while there were also increases to its 7-year and 10-year fixes. Today NatWest is making some rate reductions, including cuts […]
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Richard Morris is director of technologywithin The far-reaching effects of COVID-19 have had unprecedented impact on our daily lives, with enforced remote working one of the most significant changes we are living through. However short-term these measures may be, the effects of this pandemic are likely to have longer lasting effects on the way we […]
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Buy-to-let house purchases increased by 7% in Q1 2020 year-on-year, UK Finance figures show. Contrastingly first-time buyer numbers fell – resulting in overall mortgage lending being flat year-on-year. John Goodall, chief executive at Landbay, said: “Buy-to-let started the year really strongly and this is reflected in the UK Finance figures. “January and February saw really […]
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Typical rents fell by just 0.9% between April and May 2020, figures from the HomeLet Rental Index show. In May 2020 they still stood 2.7% higher than the same month last year. Rents saw the biggest monthly drop in Greater London, falling by 4.26% month-on-month. However they actually rose by 2.56% in Scotland, as well […]
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The government is relaxing the three-year rule for reclaiming the stamp duty surcharge. People who purchase new homes before selling their old home are subject to a 3% surcharge, which they can reclaim provided they sell the old property within three years. However, the lockdown caused by the coronavirus pandemic means some were unable to […]
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Living near a good school can add as much of a third to the typical house price, research from comparethemarket.com has found. In Warrington it costs £322,321 to live in areas surrounded by schools rated ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted, 33% more than the £243,000 you’d typically expect to pay in the town. Elsewhere, there is a […]
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Zephyr Homeloans has launched a range of buy-to-let products up to 75% loan-to-value. The lender offers fixed-rate buy-to-let mortgages for standard properties, residential properties, houses in multiple occupancy (HMOs), multi-unit blocks (MUBs), new-build properties and flats above commercial properties. Products have LTVs at 60% and 70% across all ranges, and up to 75% LTV on […]
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Mary-Anne Bowring is managing director and founder of Ringley Group and PlanetRent It has been a tough few years for the buy-to-let investors After narrowly escaping the threat of rent controls following Labours defeat in the 2015 general election, the then Conservative Chancellor George Osborne hit them first with reduced mortgage relief and then extra […]
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The key to unlocking the UK’s housing crisis is reversing underinvestment in purpose-built housing for older people, which could encourage downsizers and free up family homes. This is according to a report, ‘Too little, Too late? Housing for an ageing population’, published, by Associated Retirement Community Operators (ARCO). Phil Bayliss, chief executive of Later Living […]
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