This article by Alex Johnson of The Independent on September 24th, 2013 shows that 49% year-on-year increase in the number of planning approvals for new homes between April and June in 2013.
Figures from the Home Builder’s Federation show a 49% year-on-year
increase in the number of planning approvals for new homes between April
and June in 2013. Although this is a slight drop from the previous
three months, there were 77,686 permissions granted in the first six
months of the year, a 26% year-on-year increase.
Stewart Baseley, Executive Chairman of the HBF, said: “The overall
trend in residential permissions is very positive. It reflects house
builders’ increasing confidence in the market and also the positive
principles of the new planning system. With Help to Buy forging ahead
strongly and developers looking to increase output, we need to see the
increase sustained.
“However, at a time when developers are looking to build more much
needed homes, we are increasingly concerned by the conditions attached
to many of these permissions that prevent actual work starting on site.
Local Authorities must ensure planning conditions are not overly onerous
or unrealistic otherwise despite the success of Help to Buy, the much
needed increase in housing supply will be held back. Despite the
increase in permissions granted, we are still well short of the 220,000
permissions required annually to meet housing need.”
House haggling
A study of 2,000 UK adults by Gocompare.com suggests that 89% of those
who ask for a discount are successful in their negotiations. Cars and
motorbikes (34%) top the list of goods and services people successfully
haggled over, followed by electrical products (30%) and furniture (28%).
Around a quarter said they had haggled over the price of a house.
New buy-to-let ranges
Virgin Money has launched a new range of buy-to-let mortgages with rates
starting from 3.38% for a 2 year fixed rate with a £1,995 fee.
Following the fixed or tracker period, all mortgages from the new range
will revert to the Virgin Money Buy-To-Let Variable Rate, currently set
at 4.99%.
Meanwhile, Accord Buy to Let has launched three new mortgages with
zero completion fees, all available at a maximum of 75% loan to value
with rates starting from 3.79%. They also offer £500 cashback on
completion. The full details are:
* Two year fixed rate at 3.79% with £195 product fee and £500 cashback
* Three year fixed rate at 4.09% with £195 product fee and £500 cashback
* Five year fixed rates at 4.69% with £195 product fee and £500 cashback
Article Source: http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2013/09/24/planning-permissions-for-housing-rise-49/
Showing posts with label fixed rate. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fixed rate. Show all posts
Wednesday, 25 September 2013
Thursday, 19 September 2013
Chelsea Beats HSBC to be Top for First-Time Buyers
Chelsea is now top on the list when in comes to two-year mortgage rates catering first-time buyers as revealed on this article by lovelymoney.com on September 18th, 2013.
Chelsea Building Society has launched a market-leading two-year fixed rate mortgage for first-time buyers.
Borrowers with a 10% deposit can apply for the deal, which comes with a fixed rate of 3.54% for two years and a one-off fee of £1,545.
The new offer from Chelsea shoves HSBC from the top spot for two-year fixed rates on 90% loan-to-value deals – making a mockery of a price promise the bank pledged just a couple of weeks ago.
Flawed price promise
The HSBC price promise is a guarantee to be 'first for first-time buyers' on three of its 90% LTV deals.
The deals include a two-year fixed rate at 3.59%, a five-year fixed rate at 4.39% and a lifetime tracker rate of 3.99% (base rate plus 3.49%). Each of the offers come with a £999 fee if you have a HSBC current account, otherwise you will have to fork out £1,499.
HSBC said it would automatically beat or match providers that offered a better rate elsewhere between 2nd September and 3rd November 2013.
But this bold claim comes with an important catch.
The HSBC price promise will only beat or match rates on offer from Barclays, Woolwich, Halifax, Lloyds TSB, Nationwide, NatWest, Royal Bank of Scotland and Santander.
HSBC says these providers represent 81% of the UK mortgage market.
This means that HSBC will be able to match or beat four out of five providers on the price of 90% LTV mortgages, but not all of them, as the latest move from Chelsea Building Society has highlighted.
HSBC vs. the 19%
The eight providers HSBC challenged have so far failed to set the mortgage world alight with counter offers that might put the price promise on HSBC's leading deals to the test.
Only Chelsea Building Society, part of the 19% of providers HSBC's guarantee doesn't cover, has brought out a challenger rate that is just 0.05% lower.
Elsewhere Nottingham Building Society has launched a rate of 4.39%, fixed for five years with a low fee of £299, which matches the rate on offer from HSBC's five-year fixed rate.
The HSBC deals have only been challenged by lenders it discounted, a flaw in an otherwise bold offer.
HSBC said it had no immediate plans to extend the promise to the many building societies excluded from the guarantee, which is a shame as things could really get interesting if they were.
Punching above their weight
Last year building societies increased gross lending by 30% to £31 billion. This gave the sector a 22% share of the mortgage market, compared to 17% the year before. This year building societies are on track to go even further, with the latest figures pointing towards a 24% market share.
It's clear to see that building societies are punching above their weight and giving the big banks a run for their money.
Apart from Chelsea and Nottingham Building Society presenting a challenge to HSBC's claim, Norwich and Peterborough has recently launched a market-leading rate of 1.99% to borrowers with a 35% deposit, while Leeds Building Society has come out with innovative 0%-interest mortgages.
Supporters of building societies always point out that they are run in the interest of their members rather than shareholders, so this is where the flexibility comes from. But the lower rates have almost certainly been spurred on by the Government's Funding for Lending Scheme.
This has given lenders access to cheap funding, which they have passed on to mortgages borrowers in the form of record-breaking low rates.
Now building societies like Chelsea are coming to represent a real threat to the big banks.
First time buyer mortgages
Don't discount the other 19% of lenders out there like HSBC has. Make sure you shop around for the best deal on a mortgage. You can visit our mortgage centre.
There are also deals like Help to Buy and New Buy which have been designed to assist first time buyers onto the property ladder.
Article Source: http://money.aol.co.uk/2013/09/18/chelsea-beats-hsbc-to-be-top-for-first-time-buyers/
Chelsea Building Society has launched a market-leading two-year fixed rate mortgage for first-time buyers.
Borrowers with a 10% deposit can apply for the deal, which comes with a fixed rate of 3.54% for two years and a one-off fee of £1,545.
The new offer from Chelsea shoves HSBC from the top spot for two-year fixed rates on 90% loan-to-value deals – making a mockery of a price promise the bank pledged just a couple of weeks ago.
Flawed price promise
The HSBC price promise is a guarantee to be 'first for first-time buyers' on three of its 90% LTV deals.
The deals include a two-year fixed rate at 3.59%, a five-year fixed rate at 4.39% and a lifetime tracker rate of 3.99% (base rate plus 3.49%). Each of the offers come with a £999 fee if you have a HSBC current account, otherwise you will have to fork out £1,499.
HSBC said it would automatically beat or match providers that offered a better rate elsewhere between 2nd September and 3rd November 2013.
But this bold claim comes with an important catch.
The HSBC price promise will only beat or match rates on offer from Barclays, Woolwich, Halifax, Lloyds TSB, Nationwide, NatWest, Royal Bank of Scotland and Santander.
HSBC says these providers represent 81% of the UK mortgage market.
This means that HSBC will be able to match or beat four out of five providers on the price of 90% LTV mortgages, but not all of them, as the latest move from Chelsea Building Society has highlighted.
HSBC vs. the 19%
The eight providers HSBC challenged have so far failed to set the mortgage world alight with counter offers that might put the price promise on HSBC's leading deals to the test.
Only Chelsea Building Society, part of the 19% of providers HSBC's guarantee doesn't cover, has brought out a challenger rate that is just 0.05% lower.
Elsewhere Nottingham Building Society has launched a rate of 4.39%, fixed for five years with a low fee of £299, which matches the rate on offer from HSBC's five-year fixed rate.
The HSBC deals have only been challenged by lenders it discounted, a flaw in an otherwise bold offer.
HSBC said it had no immediate plans to extend the promise to the many building societies excluded from the guarantee, which is a shame as things could really get interesting if they were.
Punching above their weight
Last year building societies increased gross lending by 30% to £31 billion. This gave the sector a 22% share of the mortgage market, compared to 17% the year before. This year building societies are on track to go even further, with the latest figures pointing towards a 24% market share.
It's clear to see that building societies are punching above their weight and giving the big banks a run for their money.
Apart from Chelsea and Nottingham Building Society presenting a challenge to HSBC's claim, Norwich and Peterborough has recently launched a market-leading rate of 1.99% to borrowers with a 35% deposit, while Leeds Building Society has come out with innovative 0%-interest mortgages.
Supporters of building societies always point out that they are run in the interest of their members rather than shareholders, so this is where the flexibility comes from. But the lower rates have almost certainly been spurred on by the Government's Funding for Lending Scheme.
This has given lenders access to cheap funding, which they have passed on to mortgages borrowers in the form of record-breaking low rates.
Now building societies like Chelsea are coming to represent a real threat to the big banks.
First time buyer mortgages
Don't discount the other 19% of lenders out there like HSBC has. Make sure you shop around for the best deal on a mortgage. You can visit our mortgage centre.
There are also deals like Help to Buy and New Buy which have been designed to assist first time buyers onto the property ladder.
Article Source: http://money.aol.co.uk/2013/09/18/chelsea-beats-hsbc-to-be-top-for-first-time-buyers/
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