Renting cheaper than NewBuy scheme
Research by Hometrack examining the trends in new private housing supply suggests that the Government is not meeting its priority of increasing the volume of new housing. The study can be found here. The number of private new build properties starts has increased by 75% since 2009. However, this is still less than half the […]
Santander UK credit rating downgraded by Moody’s
Last week the ratings agency Moody’s downgraded the credit rating of 16 Spanish banks. This included Santander. The UK arm of Santander was downgraded to A2. This is one level higher than the Spanish parent bank. The reasons given by Moody’s for the cut include adverse operating conditions, and the Spanish government’s reduced ability […]
Nationwide cut mortgage rates
From 18th May, Nationwide has reduced its two and five year fixed rates by 0.10%. This includes the NewBuy five year fixed rate loan which is now at 5.99%. Tracie Pearce, Head of Group Mortgages, Product & Pricing at Nationwide commented: "At a time when many lenders are increasing their rates, we’re pleased to […]
House prices show no change in May
The Rightmove House Price Index for May was released this week and shows a stabilisation of prices, with no monthly change. This is the first time that there has not been a price rise since the Index was started. The Index reflects an annual price increase of 2.0% with the average property asking price at […]
Home Builders Federation show early success of NewBuy
The Home Builders Federation has released figures showing that 400 new homes have been reserved through the NewBuy scheme since its launch nine weeks ago in March. This figure comes as statistics show a 15% fall in the number of housing starts in the first quarter of 2012, compared with 2011. Over the first […]
Peppermint Platform delivers COFA and COLP toolset
Peppermint Technology has unveiled its COFA and COLP toolset which delivers continuous risk management and reporting tools as part of the Peppermint Platform. As firms are getting ready to nominate their compliance officers as part of the new outcomes focused regulation approach from the SRA, they should also look at the tools around to help […]
House Building falls during first 3 months of 2012
Data released by the ONS shows that during the first quarter of 2012 the number of house building starts was 24,140. This is a fall of 11% compared to quarter four of 2011 when there were 27,240 starts. This is 50% lower than the peak in quarter four of 2005. The greatest fall in new […]