General news

RICS comments on DCLG report

Following the publication of a new report considering quarterly house build starts, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) has issued its thoughts. The Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) study found seasonally-adjusted initiatives in England were up by 63 per cent on the previous period, but saw an annual decline of 41 per cent. However, ...

21st Aug 2009

Quarterly house building starts 'up'

A new study has looked at the number of properties which may be coming on to the market in England for first-time buyers and other homeseekers. Put together by the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG), the report considers house building across the country under the auspices of the UK Statistics Authority. It was found that around 29,980 seasonally ...

21st Aug 2009

Falling repossessions 'due to change in lenders' attitudes'

Recent figures that suggest the number of repossessions have fallen are indicative of a change of attitude from lenders, it has been argued. According to a spokesman for the UK Insolvency Helpline, a group which provides advice and support to those having issues with their finances, banks and building societies are unwilling to take extreme measures to reclaim funds. Ian ...

18th Aug 2009

CAB comments on falling repossessions

The Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) has commented on recent figures that suggest the number of house repossessions has fallen. Last week, the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) reported the second quarter of 2009 had seen 11,400 examples of such cases, which was down ten per cent on the 12,700 recorded in the previous three months. The CAB said it is clear these numbers show ...

17th Aug 2009

CML reports repossessions down

Moves to protect people from losing their property appear to be working - despite the effects of the recession, a new report has suggested. The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has issued new figures that show 11,400 homes were repossessed during the second quarter of this year, ten per cent less than the 12,700 recorded in the three months prior. However, it was also ...

17th Aug 2009

Homeowners 'could benefit from taking a lodger'

A new study has looked at the number of UK homeowners using spare rooms to help pay for mortgages and other expenses. Conducted by experts at Abbey, the report found the amount of people now lodging has tripled in the last 12 months to around one million, with three per cent of households taking advantage of this by renting out rooms. In addition, another three per cent of ...

13th Aug 2009

Predicted house price rises "not very exciting"

Confidence is returning to the housing market, but levels of activity are unlikely to increase rapidly, it has been asserted. Following the publication of Nationwide's latest figures, which predicted house price rises of around 0.5 per cent over the next six months, David Amstell of Briffy said people should expect things to remain "pretty static" for a while. He ...

10th Aug 2009

NAEA: Market much stronger than a year ago

The National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) has published its latest Housing Market Report for July 2009. It was noted that the number of agency-registered home seekers had increased on the previous month, although there was a fall in the number of first-time buyer purchases. According to the firm, June saw such consumers make up 26 per cent of completed sales in the ...

6th Aug 2009

Recession won't last much longer, says expert

The UK is soon to escape the recession and there are clear signs to suggest this, an expert has claimed. Michael Baxter, economist at financial research company Defaqto, said there are definite signs the economic period will end in the "next few months". His comments follow the most recent CIPS/Markit Purchasing Managers' Index, which showed a rise in ...

6th Aug 2009

BSA: Market stabilising, but slowly

The Building Societies Association (BSA) has suggested the current mortgage market does show signs of stabilising. It was noted that gross lending for last month was estimated at around £1,976 million and although this figure was well behind the £3,254 million borrowed in the same month in 2008, there was still some positive things to report. Brian Morris, head of ...

30th Jul 2009

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