Help to Buy

Help to Buy - Will Osborne Listen to the 3 Wise Men or Continue to Fudge the Issue?

Former Chancellors Norman Lamont, Alistair Darling and Nigel Lawson have added their significantly powerful voices to a call for Osborne to scale down Help to Buy...

It doesn't require rocket science to work out that house prices took a hit when the world went into recession in 2008. Six years on we have the benefit of hindsight, so what is the general consensus on how house prices will fare?

There appear to be two distinct camps of opinion when it comes to whether the UK is heading towards a property bubble...

Planning permission for new homes in England saw a rise of 19 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2013 compared to the previous three months, the latest report from the Home Builders Federation reveals...

The number of people who are active in the property market can be an important factor in investors in the sector making a decent level of return through capital gains...

House Building Improved by 23% in 2013

The UK housing market has been in a fantastic state of health throughout the last year when compared to the years that have preceded it. Riding a wave of low interest rates...

The mean price of homes across the UK has now topped GBP 250,000 for the first time in history, according to the latest official figures released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS)...

A degree of easing in the risk averse attitude of UK property investors could see prices in the market rising even faster than has previously been predicted, according to the latest forecast...

The implementation of the new Mortgage Market Review (MMR) regulations from April this year will change the market, subduing any great growth in the mortgage and lending sector...

As the clock struck midnight on December 31st, many renters in the UK will have made a resolution to enter the property market this year. Indeed, in a move that could see rental prices stay flat for landlords in 2014...

Residential Mortgage Lending up 30%

Houses sold better than expected in 2013, boosting mortgage lending by 30 per cent since last year and far exceeding forecasted rates. The figures, provided by the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML), suggest continued growth...

Demand for Property at 11-Year High

Demand for property in the UK is now at an 11-year high, meaning those considering real estate investment will need to come to the table with adequate financial backing...

The mortgage guarantee component of the Help to Buy scheme is causing confusion among first-time buyers. A consumer survey revealed 43 per cent of those new to the property market and other home movers are unsure of the benefits the scheme will give them.

House prices are likely to rise by 17 per cent over the next five years, according to research from CBRE. Pent up housing demand in core markets, combined with the UK's economic recovery, improved lending conditions and a shortage of supply will send values upwards...

There are now nearly a dozen buyers for each new property that comes onto the London real estate market, showing more and more people are eager to get onto the housing ladder...

The second phase of the government's Help to Buy scheme has now been rolled out, but it may be the first part of the initiative that becomes known as the runaway success...

In what would seem to be a move to deflect the negative criticisms of the Help to Buy policy (or possibly a bout of madness), Chancellor George Osborne has taken the move to hand over control of the policy itself to the Bank of England – shrewd move one might think on the face of it, until you look at the Bank of England track record...

House prices in the UK rose by 0.9 percent in September, which marks a five percent year-on-year increase, according...

The seasonal drop in new seller asking prices was less than usual in August, according to new figures. Rightmove's...

UK Housing in Recovery Evidence Shows

According to the latest data from the Office of national Statistics UK house prices increased by 2.6 percent in the year ending April, with London as usual outpacing the rest of the country.

Uproar over suggestions that British taxpayer money could be used to back the mortgages of rich overseas property buyers could dampen enthusiasm for the Help to Buy scheme in the UK...

According to the latest news from the Council of Mortgage Lenders, some 64% of first time buyers now rely on the bank of Mum and Dad in order to get their foot on the first rung of the property ladder...

House Price Sentiment On The Rise

Households believe that the price of their property rose in May at the fastest rate for nearly three years. According to the Knight Frank/Markit House Price Sentiment Index (HPSI), 13.5 per cent of home-owners think that the value of their home increased during the past month, the highest proportion since June 2010.

Despite criticism from industry experts, the government´s Help to Buy scheme is showing results in the UK property market. The Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors´ (Rics) Residential Market Survey showed the government´s announcement of the programme has had an immediate impact on sentiment.

While the government was praised for its introduction of the Help to Buy scheme, a report has suggested that it may not be what it seems. Former economists at the Bank of England claim it could end up raising the cost of the average home to GBP 300,000 because of the price of inflation.

If you're looking for a property investment project you may need to act fast if you want to pick up a bargain, as it seems peak prices will be making a comeback before too long...

Top-Down Recovery for UK Housing Market

It will still be a top-down recovery for the UK housing market, despite Budget 2013 containing measures that will act as a boost for the lower tiers...

Budget 2013 is coming under fire for creating confusion over whether state-backed mortgages can be used by the wealthy to buy second homes. After initially being praised for introducing a raft of measures to benefit home buyers, the government is now coming under fire...

The UK housing market received the boost it had hoped for in the 2013 Budget. George Osborne revealed that the government will be giving GBP 5.4 billion of financial support to tackle long-term problems in the sector and support those looking get on or move up the property ladder...

In this post, inspired in part by my fanatical attention to pointing out the flaws in many suggestions made by politicians, bankers and the public over the past few years. I am going to attempt to detect the root cause of the problem – and propose not one, but two possible solutions which you can all argue about...