Mortgage Gym appoints Chief Commercial Officer

10th April 2017 Consumer Collections |

MortgageGym.com has announced the appointment of Jeremy Moll as Chief Commercial Officer. Moll  has over 28 years of experience in the UK mortgage and insurance industries. He was part of the senior team that established CompareTheMarket as the leading price comparison brand in the UK, during which time he grew revenues significantly. Jeremy was responsible for…

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Skipton Building Society announces mortgage portfolio sale

10th April 2017 Consumer Collections |

Skipton Building Society has announced the sale of its Amber Homeloans Limited and North Yorkshire Limited mortgage portfolio to an affiliate of a fund managed by a global investment management firm. The portfolio is estimated be worth £220 million and consists of 1,600 UK mortgages The transaction is due to complete by the end of Apri.…

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TUC sounds alarm over rising household debt level

31st March 2017 Consumer Collections |

Commenting on figures published by the ONS today (Friday), which shows that unsecured borrowing is at its highest level (as a share of household income) in 8 years, TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said: “Today’s figures should set alarm bells ringing.  The last thing our economy needs right now is another consumer debt crisis. But…

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Housing price rise puts focus on affordability

29th March 2017 Consumer Collections |

Consumer expectations about house prices have bounced back to pre-EU Referendum levels after a period when the immediate ramifications of the vote were unclear according to data from the Building Societies Association Property Tracker survey. Almost half of consumers (49%) expect house prices to rise over the next 12 months.  Just 10% expect them to…

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First-time buyers relying on parents highlights affordability problem

29th March 2017 Consumer Collections |

The proportion of first-time buyers relying on inherited wealth or loans from the ‘bank of mum and dad’ has reached a historic high and the trend looks set to continue, new research by the Social Mobility Commission has revealed. The Commission warns that the increasing trend will have damaging consequences for social mobility as young people on…

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Sharp drop in number of Scottish home repossessions going through court

28th March 2017 Consumer Collections |

The number of home repossession cases going through the Scottish courts has fallen by more than 40% in a year, according to new figures published today. There were 1,874 repossession court cases initiated in 2015-16, down 43% on the previous year and 82% fewer than in 2008-09. The Civil Justice Statistics show 77,721 civil law…

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Consumer lending slows in February

24th March 2017 Consumer Collections |

The British Bankers Association (BBA) has released February 2017 figures for the high street banks. The data shows that household borrowing of £13.4 billion in February was 4.6% higher than in the same month last year. Main highlights included:  The BBA’s latest high street banking data show that consumer credit is growing at an annual rate…

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Central Bank of Ireland publishes Mortgage Arrears and Repossessions Statistics

23rd March 2017 Consumer Collections |

Irish Legal rights group FLAC (Free Legal Advice Centres) has raised concerns over mortgage arrears figures released by the Central Bank of Ireland’s latest statistics on Residential Mortgage Arrears and Repossessions from Quarter 4 in 2016.  The group said the data confirms that worrying trends continue where family homes are in mortgage arrears. Over 5,000…

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Gross mortgage lending hits £18.2 billion in February

23rd March 2017 Consumer Collections |

The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has published it’s latest monthly statistics. The CML estimates that gross mortgage lending reached £18.2 billion in February. This is 8% lower than January’s lending total of £19.8 billion, and closely matches the £18.1 billion lent in February last year. Commenting on market conditions in this month’s market commentary, CML…

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Mortgage sales rise by 24% in February

21st March 2017 Consumer Collections |

Mortgage sales for the UK jumped to £14.1 billion in February, up 23.6% on the previous month. Residential sales stood at £11.8 billion and buy-to-let sales at £2.3 billion, according to Equifax Touchstone analysis of the intermediary marketplace. North Yorkshire led the way for the highest regional mortgage sales growth in February with a 27.9%…

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Home buying decline in January

15th March 2017 Consumer Collections |

The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has released January’s mortgages figures. The latest report revealed that home buyers borrowed £8.4bn in January, down 28% on December and unchanged on January 2016. This came to 45,700 loans, down 28% on December and 1% on January 2016. First-time buyers borrowed £3.6bn for home-owner house purchase, down 29%…

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FCA needs to avoid “micro managing” lenders

13th March 2017 Consumer Collections |

The CML Director General Paul Smee has addressed the FCA’s management of the mortgage market. In a keynote speech at the Scottish annual lunch Smee said “Regulators need a detailed understanding of the mortgage market, but should avoid micro-managing it. ” The FCA’s mortgage market study has recently resulted in significant levels of data being…

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Universal Credit increases risk of rent arrears and homelessness

13th March 2017 Consumer Collections |

The Chartered Institute of Housing in Scotland (CIH Scotland) has added its voice to growing concerns about the negative social impact and spiralling costs of implementing Universal Credit. CIH Scotland, the professional body for Scotland’s housing sector, has highlighted a number of issues with the implementation of the new single payment as a Scottish Government consultation…

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