Mortgages News

By David Burrows LONDON (Reuters) - High mortgage loans for first-time buyers, offering up to six or seven times earnings, may not be quite as risky as they seem, according to one of the UK's largest independent mortgage brokers. Shock newspaper headlines over products such as Northern Rock's Together loan, which allows people to borrow 125 percent of a property's value, obscured the fact that such deals had good as well as bad points. "In an ideal world any mortgage borrower would look to ge ...

House prices are growing steadily, in spite of the fact that house price inflation in January stood at its lowest level since April 1996, new figures show. The new FT House Price Index from Acadametrics reveals steady average house price growth, rising from £195,183 in December 2005 to £195,697 in January this year. Based on figures from the Land Registry, this rise represented a monthly chang ...

Fri 10th Feb 2006 A range of Optoma three-year fixed-rate buy-to-let mortgages has been announced through funding by intermediary lender Platform today. The 75 per cent loan to value (LTV) deal has a rate fixed at 5.09 per cent until May 1st 2009. A rate of 5.19 per cent has been assigned to the offer at 85 per cent LTV. The company will also be using Platform to offer a three-year tr ...

Fri 10th Feb 2006 The Bank of Scotland two-year fixed-rate mortgage has been assigned a limited edition interest rate of 4.39 per cent. This rate will only apply to loan amounts between £750,000 and £5 million – these offers have a loan to value (LTV) of 75 and 85 per cent respectively. A reduction from 5.69 to 5.49 per cent has also been made on the bank's 80 per cent  ...

NEW YORK (Dow Jones) -- If the designs on the runways are any indication, the gloom of winter and uncertainty of the future will be reflected in fall's fashions, as consumers grapple with the ongoing war in Iraq, energy prices and an uncertain economy. Styles will return to simpler themes, as fall designs featuring updates of trends such as trench coats, high-waisted pants, big lapels and subst ...

Interest rates have today been held at 4.5 per cent for the sixth month in a row. The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has not changed the base rate of borrowing in the UK since it cut rates by a quarter per cent in August 2005. The decision to hold rates has come as no surprise to economists, following recent data showing stronger economic activity and a more robust housing mar ...

The majority of British consumers believe interest rates will either stay the same or fall during 2006, new research shows. Only 14 per cent of respondents to the Lloyds TSB consumer barometer think the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), which will announce its latest decision later today, will vote for a rate cut this year. This compares to 81 per cent of respondents who anticip ...

House price inflation was steady across the country last month, according to the latest survey from the Halifax. Prices dropped slightly between December and January, the first monthly fall the UK's biggest mortgage lender has recorded since May last year. But compared to a year ago, prices are still rising. The UK's biggest mortgage lender says the annual rate of house price inflation was 5.1% in January - the same as in December. The Halifax calculates that the average house in the UK now ...

Michael Clarke, This is Money9 February 2006 HOUSE prices slipped in January for the first time since May last year, according to an influential property market study. WANT TO KNOW MORE? DEAL FINDER: Compare mortgages CHAT: 'My first time buyer dilema' SWITCH & SAVE: Cut your household bills DEAL FINDER: Household insurance POLL: What will happen to house prices in 2006? OTHER STO ...

Rosanna Spero, Money Mail9 February 2006 HOMEBUYERS are facing mortgage arrangement fees running to £1,000 or more as lenders become increasingly desperate to recoup the cost of cheap loans. OTHER STORIES The £1m homes bonanza 'Axe home packs' ministers told New on the market House prices stage late surge French target Brits abroad USEFUL LINKS GUIDES: Homes, loa ...