Stamp duty still to end on 1st Jan 2010

Pre-budget report - Chancellor Darling has not extended the stamp duty holiday. Stamp duty will now be charged at 1% on properties bought over £125K.

Properties under £175,000 are currently exempt from stamp duty, but the threshold is due to return to the original £125,000 level next year. Chancellor Darling could have extended the stamp duty holiday or better still reformed the stamp duty levels completely. He has chosen to ignore this completely and handed another blow to the property market.

The government has however extended its support for the Mortgage Interest Scheme for a further 6 months.

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House prices increase again in November

November sees another rise in the average house price, the average house price now around the levels seen early 2006.

According to Nationwide's House Price Index another 0.5% rise in November like that shown in October this leaves the aveage house price now at £162,764. The average house price of a typical property is now a 2.7% higher than a year ago and now at a similar level to where it was in early 2006 eighteen months before the start Northern Rock debacle. The 3 month on 3 month rate of change - generally a smoother indicator of the near term trend - dropped to 2.8% from 3.5% in October and 3.8% in September. This suggests that house prices are now rising at a more moderate pace than in the spring and summer months, when they experienced a very strong bounce form the early 2009 lows.


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Comparison websites are not trusted

Comparison websites are not trusted according to Which! They do not provide a good enough service to clients.

In a comparison site satisfaction survey, Which? Money found that the average customer score for these websites was lower for than any other financial sector it has surveyed; no site scored higher than 50%. Only three in ten said they trusted them to find the best price available, while two thirds thought they would be presented with products that make the websites the most commission.

A quarter of people said they did not buy through a comparison site because they found a cheaper quote elsewhere and 12% said they were unhappy with the quotes they were given.

These site show a distinct lack of financial advice and guidance. Users are presented with best buy tables which ussualy are unsuitable or unavailable for the average user. For products like mortgages or life and critical illness policies these websites fundamentally fail the user by not performing an indepth assessment of the clients requirements and personal circumstances such as what would be done through a mortgage or protection adviser such as Wentworth Financial Services.

If you require an indepth assesssment for mortgages, life insurance and/or critical illness cover follow the links to our website for a quote. Unlile the price comparison sites we have numerous methods for dealing with our customers, face-to-face for those users in Merseyside, Cheshire area. Telephone UK wide, or via email UK wide.


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It's time for first time buyers to purchase

It's now time for first time buyers to enter the housing market and purchase rather than continue renting.

According to research from Abbey Mortgages - Buying is cheaper in every region except London - The average rent outside London in £434 per month whilst the average mortgage is £382 per month.

First time buyers having a good 20-25% deposit could benefit from the lower mortgage rates and make a possible monthly saving of £52 per month. Prospective buyers in Wales are set to make the biggest monthly savings at over £90, followed by those in the North West over £87, and Yorkshire over £77. Buyers in East Anglia will see the least savings of around £2.50 per month.

This research shows there is hope for first time buyers but underlines the importance of saving for a decent deposit, in order to benefit from the better mortgage deals.


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August house price index

August once again shows an increase in the average house price in the UK. A 1.6% increase making the new average house price £160,224.

The price of a typical house rose for the fourth consecutive month in August, increasing by 1.6% on a seasonally adjusted basis. The 3 month on 3 month rate of change - generally a smoother indicator of the near term trend - rose from 2.7% in July to 3.3% in August, the highest level since February 2007. At £160,224, the average price of a typical UK property is still slightly lower than 12 months ago. However, if house prices continue to increase month on month we will soon reach a point where the annual house price has increased and this will hereby mark a huge improvement in the sector.

Economic Outlook Brightens

According to the CBI the UK economy is expected to emerge from recession through modest growth in the third and fourth quarters of this year.

Both globally and in the UK production is starting to increase. However, the pace of recovery in 2010 is expected to be slow. "The outlook is improving as the UK draws strength from quantitative easing, a weak pound and a recovering global economy. Although growth this quarter should mark the end of the recession, conditions in the UK will remain tough for some time yet, and it is difficult to see where demand growth will come from." [Richard Lambert, CBI Director]

Quatative easing - was the governments approach to improving lending to businesses and the mortgage market. This is effectively printing money, they payback of which will be either public sector cuts or tax increases hence this is why the political parties are now talking around these factors in there press conferences.

Average house price increase for July

July is the third consecutive month where typical house prices have increased. This is now the forth monthly increase in 2009.

Although house prices are still 6.2% lower than they were 12 months ago, the last 5 months have shown significant improvement and it is now believed that by December the average house price will be up on what it was December 2008. Just a few months ago this idea was unthinkable since significant decreases in the house prices occurred toward the back end of 2008 and early 2009.

The average house price now sits at £158,871 which is 1.3% up on June's figure of £156,442.

Average house prices increase for June

House prices have once again increased for the third time in four months. First quarterly increase since December 2007.

According to Nationwide's statistics the averagre house price in the UK rose by 0.9% in June 2009 and now sits at £156,442. These recent rises are thought to be to a shortage in the supply of houses in recent months. This is likely due to many would be sellers removing their properties from being marketed due to lack of demand in 2008. Therefore the low supply is supporting house prices for the time being.

Lloyds TSB Banking Group Changes

Lloyds Banking Group have announced plans for streamlining their mortgage businesses. The C&G brand will be removed from the high street however will continue to operate in the mortgage market.

Intelligent Finance will not take any new mortgage business but will continue to provide services to existing customers, Intelligent Finance will concentrate on savings business in the future. Bank of Scotland will continue to serve existing customers but will only take new business through its high street branches in Scotland.

House Price Index for May 2009

House prices have increased for a second month in the last three. An increase of 1.2% in May follows shortly after the previous rise in March of 0.9%.

The average house price now sits at £154,016, still 11.3% lower than a year ago. However, this marks a significant improvement from the annual decline of 15.0% recorded in April. This increase may be due to the drop in supply due to many would be vendors deciding to stay put, or holding out to see whats happening with the market.

Extending the stamp duty holiday

The Chancellor announced in the Budget that the stamp duty exemption on house purchases below £175,000 will be extended until 1st January 2010.

The chancellor announced a holiday from Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) in September 2008 exempting any purchases of residential property of not more than £175,000. The measure applied to acquisitions between 3rd September 2008 and 2nd September 2009 inclusive.

Legislation will be introduced to extend the increased threshold to land transactions where the effective date for SDLT is before 1st January 2010. Thereafter the SDLT threshold for residential property will revert to its previous value of £125,000.

House Price Index March 2009

House prices are on the rise, are there green shoots of market improvements or is it too early to talk of house price recovery.

According to Nationwide's House price Index for March there is a surprise bounce in house prices, up 0.9% on February 2009's figures the average UK house price now sits at £150,946. It is far to soon to see if we are on the road to recovery, but does provide a good sign that people are returning to the market and buying again.