The proposed cap on mortgage lending the Financial Services Authority proposed yesterday has been described as a ‘suicidal’ move for the housing market. The FSA wants to restrict mortgages to three times a buyer’s annual income, but representatives from the mortgage industry and estate agents have said any further restriction in mortgage lending was ‘adding
The property Ombudsman has said that the number of disputes it decided on had fallen by 38 per cent in the first three months of the year, compared with the previous quarter. The Ombudsman opened 102 new cases this year in regards to sales, down from 162 the previous quarter. However the number of complaints
A million tenants living in private rented housing are living with the fear of eviction if they complain about poor conditions, according to a report today by Citizens Advice. The report calls for protection against retaliatory eviction. More details are in the next issue of ROOF, published next week. House prices have already reached 10
A parliamentary report has concluded that houses will become unaffordable for millions of Britons as a higher influx of immigrants will mean higher house prices. According to the House of Lords economic affairs committee, if net immigration of 190,000 people per year continues over the next 20 years, it will cause the cost of an
The number of homeless women has risen by nearly 80 per cent in five years, according to a report by the Conservative Party. The report has found that long-term use of bed and breakfast hostels for women and children more than trebled in the past five years; there has been a rise of 77 per
Rents have fallen even faster than house prices in central London since the collapse of Lehman Brothers, an estate agent survey has found. Rents are down, on average, 10.6 per cent since September, compared with 8.9 per cent for sales. In ‘cold-spots’ such as Kensington and Chelsea they are down by as much as 15
The Office of Fair Trading today launches its study into the house buying and selling process. It will look at competition between estate agents, mortgage brokers and surveyors and the measures needed to protect consumers.
Property sales fell further in November, according to the latest figures from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS). The number of sales per estate agent fell during the three months to November to an average of 10.6, down from 10.9 a month ago, the lowest level since it began its survey in 1978. However,
The price of home information packs (Hips) is being inflated by up to £150 to cover secret commission payments made to estate agents, Channel 4 News has claimed. Channel 4 said it had obtained documents showing an arrangement between a Hip provider and an estate agent where the price for one of the packs was
Low interest rates have boosted the investment appeal of buy to let, with agents reporting renewed interest in the sector. According to a recent survey conducted by the Association of Residential Lettings (ARLA), 75 per cent of agents reported a rental yield of 4 per cent of more, with the majority reporting a return of