Latest Mortgage Rates News and Deals

February 4, 2012
Lending Criteria Relaxed for Buy to Let
Rather than the house price appreciation that lured property investors during the “boom”, it is now the prospect of rising rental income that is providing the attraction. According to the Council Mortgage Lenders (CML) mortgages given to private landlords jumped 16% to £3.8 billion in the third quarter of 2011.

February 2, 2012
The Global Housing Market
The ‘boom’ conditions that were experienced between 2004 and 2007, when global housing markets recorded double digit annual price growth, are now a distant memory. Mounting pressures on the global economy, with politicians seemingly helpless to get to grips with the euro zone crisis, has reawakened fears of a double dip recession and not just for [...]

January 30, 2012
Mortgage Rates Look Set to Climb
With the euro zone crisis and concerns that the UK could face a second credit crunch it is looking all the more likely that mortgage lenders will look to raise their rates. Although it seems that many lenders have been more competitive in recent months the amount of lending in the market has not increased and [...]

January 30, 2012
Millions of Households Forced to Cut Back on Essentials
Most households have been faced with high living costs and deteriorating employment conditions for quite some time now. However the largest drop in inflation in nearly 3 year was reported earlier this month and therefore things look even bleaker for many households. Family finances are under a much greater pressure than ever before, thus making it [...]

January 27, 2012
Lender Backtracks on a ‘rate shock’
The only thing anyone can be certain of in theses hard times is that we all have an uncertain financial future. Although many aspects of the property and mortgage market have been seemingly encouraging in recent months, with Barclays for one relaunching into 90% loan to value (LTV) mortgages and the Nationwide also improving their availability [...]

January 26, 2012
Virgin Buys Northern Rock
Due to financial problems caused by the sub prime mortgage crisis the Northern rock bank was nationalised in 2008 by the government using approximately £1.4 billion of the tax payer’s money. This move to nationalise the bank signalled the start of the financial crisis.

January 26, 2012
Mortgage Approvals Defy Euro Zone Crisis
The economic environment still looks decidedly worrisome, what with the labour market on course to deteriorate rapidly in 2012 and the euro zone crisis also showing no signs of abating, the future appears very gloomy for the housing market. On top of all this, it seems that there is also a significant number of people still [...]

January 25, 2012
The Co-operative Bank to Buy out Lloyds Branches
It seems that the Co-operative bank is to purchase 632 Lloyds branches, with a bid thought to be worth around £1 million. Lloyds TSB, the state rescued bank which is 41% owned by the government, is being forced to sell some of its branches under European Union competition rules. These rules ensure that competition with in [...]

January 24, 2012
Buy to Let
It seems that as the lending criteria has tightened; the number of people able to buy property has shrunk, leaving a gap in the market which is being filled by the buy to let investor. One of the reasons that buy to let investors have not been hit as hard by the mortgage market is that [...]

January 24, 2012
Renting!
Most potential first time buyers have now found themselves trapped within the rental sector, with no way out for the foreseeable future. Ever growing numbers of first time buyers who have been unable to secure a mortgage have consequently pushed up rents by approximately 10% since the banking crisis struck in 2008.