New market and regulatory forces are having a major impact on the UK debt collections sector. The industry is going through a transitionary phase and as a result, businesses are having to shift their operational focus and adapt their business models. One of the biggest changes has been in the nature of the regulatory environment.…
Read moreThe Council of Mortgage Lenders has published it’s latest home buying figures which indicate that home buying activity up 7% in February. Looking on a seasonally adjusted basis, first-time buyer and home mover activity increased by value month-on-month and year-on-year. Buy-to-let house purchase and remortgage activity remained unchanged by volume and by value month-on-month, but…
Read moreMortgageGym.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…
Read moreSkipton 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.…
Read moreCommenting 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…
Read moreConsumer 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…
Read moreThe 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…
Read moreThe 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…
Read moreThe 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…
Read moreIrish 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…
Read moreThe 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…
Read moreMortgage 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%…
Read moreThe 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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