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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Consumer finance rises by 10% in January

10th March 2017 Consumer Collections |

New figures released today by the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) show growth of 10% in consumer finance new business in January, compared with the same month in 2016. Credit card and personal loan new business together grew by 11% compared with January 2016, while retail store and online credit new business increased by 1%.…

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Rising rents and benefits cuts pushing vulnerable tenants out of housing market

10th March 2017 Consumer Collections |

The UK’s most vulnerable tenants are being pushed out of the private rental market, according to the latest Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) Residential Market Survey. New figures show that around one-third of respondents believe that access to private rented properties had fallen among people on housing benefits. Recent caps to housing benefits were…

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Renting cost puts home ownership out of reach for tenants

7th March 2017 Consumer Collections |

Private tenants are struggling to get a foot on the housing ladder because of the costs that come with renting according to the Citizens Advice Service. A new report from the charity finds that just under three quarters (74%) of private tenants say the combined costs of rent, agency fees and moving make buying a…

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Report: Household debt – statistics and impact on economy

6th March 2017 Consumer Collections |

The government has published a report on Household debt. The report includes the latest statistics and forecasts for household debt in the UK and international comparisons. There is also a guide explaining how to understand and interpret household debt statistics and a summary of research looking at its effects on the economy. In the report…

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Masthaven appoints new Mortgage MD

1st March 2017 Consumer Collections |

Masthaven have appointed Matt Andrews as the new Managing Director of Mortgages. Andrews is the Managing Director of Bluestone Mortgages. Andrews brings 10 years of mortgage leadership experience with him and prior to his role at Bluestone he was Managing Director of a Merrill Lynch mortgage division and a Director at Kensington Mortgages’ direct to consumer operation.…

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Bluestone appoints new MD

28th February 2017 Consumer Collections |

Bluestone Group has announced the appointment of David Torpey as Managing Director (MD) of Bluestone Mortgages and Group Chief Operations Officer (COO). Torpey will fill the newly created COO role as well as assuming the position of Managing Director of Bluestone’s mortgage business, replacing Matt Andrews who has recently left the business. Torpey brings nearly…

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Consumer borrowing grows by 6.7%

24th February 2017 Consumer Collections |

The British Banking Association’s (BBA) latest high street banking data shows that consumer borrowing through overdrafts, loans and credit cards grew at an annual rate of 6.7%. Other findings include: Gross mortgage borrowing totalled £13.8 billion in January, 6.3% higher than the same period last year Re-mortgaging approvals in January were 15.7% higher than January…

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New home owners need £23,300 deposit to join the property ladder

24th February 2017 Consumer Collections |

The Office of National Statistics (ONS) has published an interactive housing affordability calculator, allowing users to see what level of household income they might expect to need in order to be able to get a mortgage on an entry-level property in their neighbourhood. The calculator uses some assumptions about the size of the deposit, the multiples…

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