Mortgage lending up 20% in February

Posted by & filed under Banks and building societies, Business, First-time buyers, guardian.co.uk, Housing market, Money, Mortgage lending figures, Mortgage rates, Mortgages, News, Property, UK news.

Rise in first-time buyer numbers behind overall increase in lending for house purchases, CML figures suggestMortgage lending for house purchases was up by 20% year-on-year in February, but lenders said the increase may have been fuelled by changes to s…

‘Nation of renters’ warning from estate agency chief

Posted by & filed under Banks and building societies, Communities, guardian.co.uk, House prices, Housing, Housing market, Mortgage rates, Mortgages, News, Property, Real estate, Society.

Generation aged 18-34 risks being priced out of market unless government helps housebuyers, says head of CountrywideThe chief executive of the UK’s largest estate agent has renewed calls on the government to intervene in the housing market to prevent f…

Governments should help with mortgages to avoid prolonged slump

Posted by & filed under Borrowing & debt, Business, Economics, Financial crisis, Financial sector, Global economy, guardian.co.uk, IMF, Money, Mortgage arrears, Mortgages, News, UK news, United States, World news.

Rapid buildup of household debt during boom leads to deeper downturn when bubble bursts, World Economic Outlook arguesGovernments should step in to help struggling households write off part of their mortgages in the wake of a financial crisis to avoid …

Co-operative raises mortgage costs for 54,000 borrowers

Posted by & filed under Banking, Banks and building societies, Business, Co-operative Group, guardian.co.uk, Money, Mortgage rates, Mortgages, News, Property, UK news.

Bank joins Halifax, Bank of Ireland and Clydesdale and Yorkshire banks in raising its standard variable rate, which will rise to 4.74% in MayThe Co-operative Bank has become the latest lender to increase the standard variable rate (SVR) it charges mort…

Nationwide tightens up on interest-only mortgages

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Nationwide slashes LTV on its interest-only deals, raising fears it will leave thousands of borrowers as ‘mortgage prisoners’Nationwide building society has slashed the maximum loan-to-value (LTV) ratio on its interest-only mortgages from 75% to 50%, l…