Each week we scour the property press, both on and off line, to find the most topical, informative - and amusing - homes related stories. Follow the links below to see recent editions or click here if you want to subscribe to our weekly email property news round-up.
30th July 2010, Issue #88
Nationwide’s latest survey, which was released this week, has shown that the average price of a home fell in July for only the second time in 2010. The 0.5 per cent fall has been partly attributed to concern in the economic outlook... (read more)
23rd July 2010, Issue #87
Recent research undertaken by property website Zoopla.co.uk shows that buying a home is cheaper than renting in most of Britain - monthly mortgage interest payments on a two-bedroom property are typically 8pc lower than the cost of renting a comparable home – surely this has to be good news for the new homes property market?... (read more)
16th July 2010, Issue #86
The Financial Services Authority announced proposals this week which could make it harder for the self-employed to get a mortgage, as well as delaying the borrowing process generally, as they ask purchasers to produce evidence of their income to prevent fraud... (read more)
9th July 2010, Issue #85
This week the Communities Secretary, Eric Pickles officially abolished regional house building quotas. Originally set by Labour in response to the shortage of homes, it has proved unpopular and so instead, the new Government will provide direct incentives to communities to encourage them to support the construction of new homes... (read more)
2nd July 2010, Issue #84
House prices stagnated in June, rising only 0.1 per cent according to the latest figures released by Nationwide Building Society this week. This will go some way in supporting industry speculation that the housing market recovery is flagging... (read more)
25th June 2010, Issue #83
This week saw the new coalition government’s emergency budget announced, with the main news affecting the property market receiving mixed views. After the rise in Capital Gains Tax was more modest than anticipated, it is thought buy-to-let landlords and second home owners have been let off the hook, however, there may still be repercussions, with experts predicting the rise may discourage investors in the long term... (read more)
18th June 2010, Issue #82
It's been a week of ups and downs in the property market, with the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) reporting that the abolition of Home Information Packs (Hips) last month has provided a boost to the property market, whilst the Council of Mortgage Lenders and the Building Societies Association both state that confidence is slipping... (read more)
11th June 2010, Issue #81
The government has announced measures this week to stop the practice of “garden grabbing”. According to the Communities and Local Government Department, the number of houses being built on gardens rose from one in 10 to a quarter of new properties between 1997 and 2008... (read more)
4th June 2010, Issue #80
The new Government's plans to raise capital gains tax (CGT) are causing a stir this week, with The Telegraph focusing on the fear it is instilling within the investor market. The Times meanwhile looks at the wider implications higher CGT may have on homeowners... (read more)
28th May 2010, Issue #79
As housing market activity remains subdued mortgage lending is still slow on the increase, with research from the British Bankers’ Association showing that net lending during April was down to the lowest level since February 2001. But on another note, the fraught buy-to-let mortgage sector has received a boost with the launch of a new lender in the sector... (read more)
21st May 2010, Issue #78
Under the new coalition government the use of Home Information Packs (Hips) by home sellers has been scrapped this week, one of the few announcements by the new regime that will undoubtedly be met with near universal praise. In other property news from the government, David Cameron has claimed that the owners of second homes should pay higher taxes; and the new MPs have agreed that housing is a priority... (read more)
14th May 2010, Issue #77
The mortgage arena has seen some mixed news this week, with the Post Office launching a range of deals for first-time buyers to help them get onto the property market and Lloyds clamping down on interest-only mortgages in a bid to reduce the lender's exposure to risky loans... (read more)
7th May 2010, Issue #76
The financial arena is featuring highly in this week’s property news round-up, with figures from the Bank of England showing that net mortgage lending rose by just £300m in March compared to £1.8bn in February, but on the plus side, the number of deals available to purchasers is on the rise with good news for buyers who only have small deposits... (read more)
30th April 2010, Issue #75
It's been a week of ups and downs in the property world. Nationwide announced that house prices have gone up by over 10% in the year to April 2010, the first double-digit rise for three years. And also on the up are mortgage approvals - 20% higher in March 2010 than in the same month last year. Meanwhile down go fixed rate mortgages, falling to their lowest interest level in two years... (read more)
23rd April 2010, Issue #74
Welcome to this week’s top property news round-up. Whilst it was feared that the impending election would cause the property market to come to a standstill, the latest Rightmove House Price Index suggests spring sellers are ignoring pre-election concerns and have increased average asking prices by 2.6% (£5,898) in April... (read more)
16th April 2010, Issue #73
Welcome to this week’s MMS property news round-up. There’s plenty happening in the property arena this week with the CML stating that homebuyer mortgages rose by 12% in February and Countrywide announced that mortgage applications have returned to pre-recession levels... (read more)
9th April 2010, Issue #72
Hello and welcome to this week’s property news round-up. There’s been plenty of good news in the market this week with interest rates staying at their record low of 0.5 per cent; UK house prices have bounced back rising by 1.1 per cent having fallen in February, and mortgage rates are continuing to fall with two lenders announcing they are launching new best buy rates... (read more)
1st April 2010, Issue #71
Welcome to this week’s property news round-up from MMS. There’s some good news with regard to house prices this week with figures showing that they’re on the up. According to the latest index UK residential property prices are still rising and are now 9% higher than a year ago... (read more)
26th March 2010, Issue #70
Welcome to this week’s property newsletter. Of course news this week has been taken up with Alistair Darling’s announcements regarding the pre-election 2010 budget and what this means for the property sector. The news has been good for nine out of ten first time buyers who will be exempt from paying stamp duty on homes below £250,000. But not quite such good news if you live in London, as property analysts are claiming that changes to stamp duty on home sales effectively amount to a ‘tax on London’... (read more)
19th March 2010, Issue #69
Welcome to this week’s MMS property news round-up. There has been some good news concerning mortgages this week with the Council of Mortgage Lenders announcing that lending was up 6% from January’s figures with them hoping this will be the start of an upward trend. And on another positive note the number of borrowers behind with mortgage repayments fell by 4% in the last quarter of 2009, as low interest rates continued to help homeowners meet their monthly bills. This has also been followed by a cry from the FSA chairman to banish 100% mortgages in a bid to prevent another boom and bust in the housing market... (read more)
12th March 2010, Issue #68
Welcome to this week’s property news round-up, as always there’s plenty of diverse news around – ahead of the general election estate agents are warning that the housing market is on hold as buyers and sellers adopt a “wait and see” approach... (read more)
5th March 2010, Issue #67
Another week of mixed messages in the property news arena this week, with reports of a plunge in mortgage approvals in January on one hand, balanced against a survey which shows the UK housing market to be one of the fastest improving in Europe... (read more)
26th February 2010, Issue #66
Here we are with this week’s property news round-up - there’s plenty happening in the market this week. According to Nationwide, UK house prices have fallen for the first time in 10 months but the building society states it’s too early to say if this is the start of a sustained drop. On the flip slide home ownership falls to its lowest level in nearly 20 years while the rental sector booms with an increase of more than one million people renting from a private landlord during the past few years... (read more)
19th February 2010, Issue #65
Welcome to this week’s property news round-up. There’s a bit of a mixed bag going on this week with mortgage lending taking a dive as the stamp duty holiday ends and estate agents are making headlines after regulation has been ruled out following an OFT enquiry... (read more)
12th February 2010, Issue #64
Following on from last week there is still plenty of news surrounding lending with Mervyn King stating that the mortgage special liquidity scheme will not be extended and lenders have slowly been creeping up their variable mortgage rates despite the Bank of England keeping rates on hold for 11 months... (read more)
5th February 2010, Issue #63
In the mortgages arena there’s news that Halifax is clamping down on borrowers with cheap mortgages, forcing them to switch to more expensive deals if they wish to move house and several other lenders hiking up their standard variable rate (SVR) mortgages despite interest rates being kept on hold... (read more)
29th January 2010, Issue #62
Good news continues to flow in this week’s newsletter with claims from a Bank of England policymaker that UK property prices will bounce back, and there are more positive stories regarding mortgage lending... (read more)
22nd January 2010, Issue #61
This week’s news brings with it a more positive feel for the property market in 2010. Cautious optimism appears to be the order of the day... (read more)
15th January 2010, Issue #60
While last week’s news was preoccupied with looking to the future, this week there’s a look back to the ‘dip’ at the end of what was a rollercoaster 2009 for the property market – but the good news is, things are back on the up... (read more)
8th January 2010, Issue #59
Happy New Year and welcome to the first MMS property news round-up of the decade. Unsurprisingly, the news is dominated by predictions of what the year ahead holds for the property market... (read more)
