YourMortgage News

This is the news items from October 2003, kindly provided by YourMortgage.co.uk.

October

House prices still rising 31/10

Nationwide's monthly house price report tells us that average property prices increased by two per cent in October, taking the annual rate of house price inflation to 16.1%.

The fastest growing prices are to found on the terraces: the value of terraced property has increased by 20 per cent over the last year. The average house price in the UK now stands at £131,94

Stamp Duty burden 31/10

Homeowners pay £3.5bn in stamp duty each year, more than four times the amount the Exchequer was collecting from the tax in 1998, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML). According to the CML, the Government's decision not to raise the £60,000 threshold on which stamp duty is charged meant an extra 138,000 homebuyers will be liable for the tax this year.

The CML is calling for the Government to increase the threshold of stamp duty and the level at which inheritance tax is paid automatically in line with house price inflation

Lenders anticipate rate rise 29/10

UK banks and building societies have increased the interest rates charged on their fixed rate mortgages this week.

On Tuesday Bank of Ireland Mortgages went as far as withdrawing its entire range of fixed rates mortgage products as of 31st October.

The mortgage lenders expect the Bank of England will raise interest rates from their current 48-year low of 3.5%, possibly as soon as next month.

Housing market surges 28/10

The British Bankers' Association reports that the value of mortgages approved last month rose to 80 per cent above the level reached last year. The dramatic rise has been attributed in part to first-time buyers returning to the market.

House price rises of around 28 per cent per year recorded at the start of the year have cooled, but a rise new mortgage approvals of 39 per cent last month suggest that price rises may spiral upwards again. The average mortgages size is £111,900, up 29 per cent compared to October 2002. Remortgaging continues to drive the market forward with the number of loans 32 per cent higher than a year previously.

Funding for affordable homes 22/10

Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott yesterday unveiled a £5 billion housing allocation to drive forward the Government's commitment to affordable housing.

A new key worker programme was outlined by Prescott to succeed the Starter Home Initiative in April next year.

The new scheme will direct most support to 'priority categories' such as health workers and teachers, but will widen its scope to include other public sector workers.

Property slowdown? 22/10

The Inland Revenue has released figures that show a slowing in sales in the property market to the lowest seen in six years. In the three months to September, 369,000 properties changed hands in the UK, a 27% fall on the same period last year.

Rise in stamp duty? 21/10

Homebuyers could face a rise in Stamp Duty as Chancellor Gordon Brown plans to raise revenues from the owner-occupier market. The Treasury is facing a forecasted £27billion public spending deficit and property sales are considered an under-taxed area.

Housing market still booming 20/10

House prices in October rose by more than they done in the last 18 months, according to property website Rightmove. Average UK prices rose by 3.3% over the month, pushing annual house price inflation to 9.8%, said the website.

And a report just released by the Council of Mortgage Lenders shows that gross mortgage lending hit a new record in September of £25.7 billion. Director General of the CML, Michael Coogan, said: "Lending activity shows no sign of slowing in the near future."

Mortgage health scare 14/10

Mortgages make you ill, according to Sainsbury's Bank.

Research by the bank has revealed that mortgages gave made 6.34 million people sick, backing up a recent report published by the British Medical Association.

Sainsbury's Bank's findings show that around 2.16 million people claim that their mortgages have made them feel depressed and 4.4 million had complained that they were left feeling anxious and worried.

Furthermore, some 3.9 million people said that their mortgage had caused them to feel stressed.

As well as causing illness, the bank's research also found that 1.57 million people said that their mortgages had damaged their relationships with their partners and 794,000 said it had affected relationships with friends and family. Over 800,000 people complained that worrying about their mortgages had resulted in them suffering problems at work.

House prices cool off 14/10

House price inflation cooled off this summer, according to figures from the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister.

The latest Government survey showed that the annual rate of house price growth stood at 14% in August, down from 14.6% in July. This is lower than figures of up to 19% that have been mooted by leading mortgage lenders.

According to the survey, the average cost of a house was £159,010 in August, up from £156,273 in July.

Rates on hold 09/10

The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has just announced that the Bank Base Rate, which largely determines mortgage rates, will be maintained at 3.50% this month.

The MPC reduced the Base Rate in July from 3.75% to 3.50%, its lowest level since the 1950s.

Post Office push on products 08/10

A joint venture between Bank of Ireland Group and the Post Office will mean that Post Office customers will soon be able to apply for a mortgage or open savings accounts through their local branch.

A product range, including mortgages, personal loans, savings accounts, credit cards, personal insurance and mortgages will be available over the counter from early next year.

The Post Office already operates a joint venture with Bank of Ireland with its foreign exchange, and the bank is investing 125 to get this further joint venture off the ground.

Remortgaging levels fall 08/10

The amount of money raised by homeowners remortgaging to release equity has fallen, according to the Bank of England.

Nearly £11.3 billion was raised through remortgaging during the second quarter of 2003, which is down from the figure of £11.48 billion for the first three months of the year.

But the figure was still well up on the £8.28 billion that was raised during the second quarter of 2002.

Experts say the slowdown could be down to signs that mortgage rates are beginning to creep up, and worries over the future state of the housing market.

House prices up again 03/10

Today's Halifax House Price Index reports that house prices rose by 1.5% in September, bringing the average price in the UK to £135,958. The index claims that annual gains were strongest in the north, where the value of the average house has increased by 38%. Yorkshire and Humber and Wales saw rises of 32% while Greater London prices increased by just 9% in 12 months.

House prices increased in all areas of Britain in the third quarter of 2003, in contrast with the second quarter of the year when there were slight falls in London and the south-east, the Halifax found.

ouse price growth to slow 02/10

Mortgage lender Northern Rock's property outlook predicts that house price growth is set to fall back in line with average salary increases. This would reduce average house price growth to just over 3% a year, down sharply from leading mortgage lenders' current estimates of between 15% and 19%.

But the lender downplayed fears of a property market slump, saying a sound economy would ensure that demand for mortgages remained buoyant.

House prices up 01/10

House prices increased by one per cent in September, according to Nationwide. "It is clear that some momentum has now returned to the market," said Alex Bannister, group economist. "In contrast to the lacklustre start to the year, the housing market once again looks relatively buoyant."

UK prices have risen by at least 1pc in all but three of the last 18 months, and the typical home now costs £130,473.