The Government is planning to build 100,000 new, discounted homes for first time buyers over the next five years.
A report by the Bank of England has claimed that the majority of mortgage holders would be able to cope with increased interest rates, on the basis that household incomes increase by 10% at the same time. The report claimed that in the event of interest rates increasing to 2.5%, only 4% of mortgage holders would need to take action in order to keep up with their mortgage repayments.
The government run Help to Buy scheme has helped 71,000 people across the UK buy a new home, according to official statistics.
Mortgage approvals have fallen by 16% in the last 12 months, providing further evidence that the housing market is slowing down, according to the British Banking Association (BBA). BBA said that a total of 37,076 mortgages were approved in October this year, which is the lowest figure for 17 months. Additionally, the total value of these mortgages was around �£6bn, which is a 13% year-on-year decrease.
Nationwide Building Society’s mortgage lending has fallen by almost £1 billion over the past six months, its interim results show.
The number of homes being repossessed in the UK has fallen for the third quarter in a row. There were 5,000 homes repossessed in the UK in the third quarter of this year, compared with 5,400 in the second quarter, and 7,200 in the same period of last year.
Consumer organisation Which? have claimed that homeowners have to pay “sneaky” and “unclear” mortgage fees. Which? believe borrowers face more than 40 different fees and charges, making it harder to calculate the actual cost of a mortgage over its whole lifetime.
The number of property sales worth £1 million or more is the highest it has even been, according to research from the UK's largest mortgage provider, Lloyds Bank.
There were 6,143 houses over £1 million sold in the first half of 2014, the equivalent of 33 transactions a day.
The Bank of England (BoE) will today announce new regulations for banks to maintain financial safety nets. Industry experts believe this may raise the costs of mortgages and penalise building societies.
The cost of renting a home in the UK rose 1% over the past year, official statistics have shown. The increase included a 1% rise in England, a 0.2% increase in Wales and a 1.4% rise in Scotland.