The average asking price for homes in England and Wales has recorded unusually strong growth in the past month, according to the property website Rightmove. The increase of 2.8 per cent in the four weeks to 10 October over the previous four-week period is one of the sharpest four-weeklyRead More →
The number of first-time buyers has dropped to its lowest point in a decade despite a significant rise in the number of affordable homes over the past year, according to figures released by the Halifax. Tighter mortgage lending criteria, recent price rises in some areas and lack of moneyRead More →
Homeowners who fall victim to rogue sale and rent back companies will be able to claim compensations from July. Those who unfairly suffer loss of money or of their homes through the schemes will be able to take their cases to the Financial Ombudsman. The Financial Services Authority willRead More →
A ‘gobsmacking’ weakness in the way banks are regulated led to the financial crisis the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has said. The group blasted regulatory financial frameworks as ‘very poor’ saying they not only failed to prevent the financial crisis, but contributed to it. The OECDRead More →
Black and minority ethnic (BME) communities are changing, and housing providers must plan to meet their changing needs, the Race Equality Commission says. Its research predicts a big rise in the BME population, but the economic crisis is making home ownership more difficult to access, increasing interest in socialRead More →
House prices have almost trebled during the Blair decade, according to the FT house price index. The paper also predicts another interest rate rise this year. The Independent reports that more than one in seven people will now struggle to pay their mortgage following last week’s hike inRead More →
Desperate homeowners are flooding the rental market with homes they cannot sell and rents have plummeted by more than 16 per cent, according to figures from Globrix. The number of new homes coming on to the rental market has increase by 57 per cent in the first quarter ofRead More →
Almost a million children are trapped in overcrowded housing, according to a new campaign launched by HHSE today. The total has risen 50,000 to 955,000 in the last three years. The campaign includes a new video and a call to email communities secretary Ruth Kelly to update the currentRead More →
The National Housing Federation (NHF) has welcomed the government’s pre-budget report that money for social houses will be brought forward, but called for the funding rules to be changed immediately. The NHF said that unless money is used to pay builders of new social homes higher grant rates, theRead More →