Self-employed making huge sacrifices to achieve home-ownership

The UK’s self-employed workers and freelancers are making huge personal and professional sacrifices just to achieve their home-ownership ambitions according to new research by Together, Many of the country’ entrepreneurial wealth creators have put on hold important life plans such as marrying, having children or expanding their businesses – potentially hitting future earning potential –…

Read more

Average earners need £369K deposit for a London home

13th March 2025 Consumer Lending | #house buying

Buying a home in London requires an average earner to save a deposit of over £350,000 according to research by longer-term lender April Mortgages. With average house prices in the capital soaring to £581,310 – more than 12x the average income – average earners require huge deposits to afford a home. Based on a typical lending…

Read more

Mortgage lending balances hit new peak

The total outstanding balance of residential mortgages reached a record £1,678.2 billion in Q4 2024, an increase by 0.5% from the previous quarter to according to latest Bank of England data. The rise is attributed to first-time buyers, who accounted for nearly 30% of new lending. The average age of first-time buyers is now 33.5…

Read more

Female consumers 9% less likely to apply for debt consolidation loans than male consumers 

10th March 2025 Consumer Lending | #lending

New research by Loantube has revealed that female consumers are most likely to apply for a loan for home improvements (42%), followed by debt consolidation (32%) and buying a new car (10%). Among the consumer borrowing trends, LoanTube’s data reveals that female consumers are most likely to apply for a loan for home improvements (42%),…

Read more

First-time buyers paying extra £4,200 a year on their mortgage

10th March 2025 Consumer Lending | #mortgages

First-time buyers in the UK are facing paying an extra £4,200 a year on their mortgage with increased mortgage payments, which now average £940 per month compared to £590 five years ago, according to latest Rightmove research. The data showed that the average price for a first-time buyer home currently stands at £226,887. The analysis…

Read more

FCA sets out steps to support home ownership

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has promised swift action on making mortgages more accessible, with the regulator set to launch a consultation on simplifying rules, as well as alternative approaches to stress testing. The FCA will look at options for making it easier to access options such as remortgaging with a new lender and reducing…

Read more

Motor finance complaints hit record level

The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) has reported a record 18,658 new complaints regarding car loans in the last quarter of 2024, surpassing credit cards as the most complained-about financial product. Motor hire purchase deal complaints jumped almost three times to 15,956 cases, followed by disputes about credit cards, current accounts, car/motorcycle insurance and motor conditional…

Read more

First-time buyers and home mover numbers increase by a third

4th March 2025 Consumer Lending | #house moving

Latest quarterly data from UK Finance has shown that the mortgage market strengthened in Quarter 4 (Q4)  2024, with both first-time buyers and home mover numbers up by almost a third compared to a year ago, with forward-looking data suggesting this will persist through the first quarter of 2025 The data found that overall, 2024…

Read more

Mortgage approvals fall as lending rises to £4.2bn

Latest Bank of England data has found that the number of mortgage approvals fell to 66,200 in January, a decrease of around 300 from December. However, net mortgage lending rose by 27% to £4.2 billion – the highest since September 2022. The mortgage market remained busy in January, largely due to first-time buyers squeezing deals…

Read more

Young adults and homeowners driving surge in subprime credit

28th February 2025 Buy Now Pay Later | #sub prime credit

New analysis of 24 million subprime credit applications conducted by Data On Demand in partnership with the University of Salford Business School and Seattle Pacific University has found that young adults and homeowners driving surge in subprime credit, The analysis revealed a significant shift in borrowing patterns, with essential living costs replacing discretionary spending as…

Read more

Later life mortgage lending increases 28%

Latest quarterly figures from UK Finance has found that later life mortgages lending increased 28.2 per cent year on year. The data indicated that there were 35,840 new loans advanced to older borrowers in Quarter 4 (Q4) with the value of this lending was £5.6bn, which was up 38.6 per cent compared with the same…

Read more

FLA members provided £155bn of new lending in 2024

26th February 2025 Consumer Lending | #lending

New figures released by the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) show that FLA members across the asset finance, consumer finance and motor finance markets provided a record £154.6 billion of new lending in 2024, 2% higher than in 2023. In 2024 £39.7 billion was provided to businesses for investment in machinery, equipment, and vehicles, including…

Read more

Consumer finance grew by 11% in December

20th February 2025 Consumer Lending | #consumer credit

New figures released by the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) show that consumer finance new business grew in December 2024 by 11% compared with the same month in 2023.  In 2024 as a whole, new business in this market was 2% higher than in 2023. The credit card and personal loans sectors together reported new…

Read more

1 2 3 93