A few years ago the standard lending criteria for the average UK borrower was a simple 2.5x the combined income or 3.25x the largest income. Then came tales of offers of whopping 4x the largest income, now we hear that in many cases banks are willing to offer 6x income for the average borrower...
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British mortgage lending rose strongly again, building society mortgage approvals hit a record high and money supply growth picked up in January, bolstering the case for higher interest rates this year. ‘It seems highly likely that interest rates will rise further still before long,’ said Howard Archer, an economist Global Insight. The British Bankers’...
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This month saw the average London house push through the £250,000 barrier, leading to calls to raise stamp duty tax thresholds as Londoners get hit with the double whammy of higher prices and higher taxes. According to BN prices of top apartments in London broke through fresh records last month. 1976, you may recall,...
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Britain’s financial regulator warned this morning that lenders in the UK may be in danger of over exposing themselves with mainstream house mortgages reaching five times income. The Financial Services Agency (FSA) warned that lenders need to be sure that they can cope with the consequences of a potential housing slump. The FSA’s worry...
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According to the latest report from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) house prices have increased by their fastest rate for four years, led by London increases. In its monthly survey RICS said that the number of members reporting rising prices versus falling prices had increased to 48 percent for October, an increase...
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