house prices

Mortgage squeeze forces homeowners to sell

Rebecca Atkinson — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 10:01:31 +0000

The number of homes being repossessed rose by 12% in the third quarter of the year, official figures have shown.

Property sales hit 30-year low

Rebecca Atkinson — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 10:40:40 +0000

Property sales have hit a 30-year low as mortgage lending dries up by more than 50% in just 12 months.

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) reports that the average number of sales per surveyor is currently just 10.9, the lowest level since records started in 1978. London remains at the bottom of the activity league, with just 6.4 sales per surveyor on average.

Consumers feel more optimistic about future

Rebecca Atkinson — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 11:43:47 +0000

The government’s banking bailout has bolstered consumer confidence and left households feeling the most optimistic they have been since December last year, according to Nationwide.

The building society’s consumer confidence index shows that in October people felt brighter with confidence up 23% following the government’s capital injection into the banking sector.

What rights do renters have against repossession?

Rebecca Atkinson — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 17:07:11 +0000

A decade of soaring house prices has priced many people off the property ladder, and the current credit crunch and lack of mortgage credit means increasing numbers of people are opting to rent rather than buy.

House prices down nearly 15%

Rebecca Atkinson — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 09:55:08 +0000

House prices are now nearly 15% lower than they were just 12 months ago, with the average property worth £30,000 less than last year.

The latest figures from Nationwide show that prices fell 1.4% during October, the 12th consecutive monthly fall, bringing the annual change to 14.6%.

New laws to protect homeowners

Rebecca Atkinson — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 10:44:01 +0100

Gordon Brown has pledged new measures to help people avoid losing their homes as Britain heads towards a recession.

Under new rules that come into force on 19 November, mortgage lenders on the verge of repossessing a property will have to demonstrate to the courts that they have explored all other options before they are given the green light.

House price falls could be stabilising

Rebecca Atkinson — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 10:20:44 +0100

House prices experienced their biggest annual drop in 17 years in September, according to the Nationwide, but evidence suggests falls could be stabilising.

This is the 11th consecutive monthly fall in house prices, with values now some 12.4% lower than this time last year. The average house is currently worth £161,797, down £24,247 from the October 2007 peak of £186,044.

How bad will it get?

Rebecca Atkinson — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 11:50:27 +0100

The news that the US Congress has rejected plans to bailout Wall Street to the tune of $700 billion, may not immediately appear to have much impact on you and your finances.

But, in reality, the decision has already had repercussions that could continue to reverberate globally for some time.

Housing slowdown not over yet

Rebecca Atkinson — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 10:30:48 +0100

Mortgage lending hit record lows in August official figures show today, suggesting the market slowdown still has some way to go.

Another month, another house price fall

Rebecca Atkinson — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 10:16:55 +0100

The latest house price index from Halifax shows values fell 1.8% in August, bringing the prices to more than 10% lower than where they were last year.