News
July sees increase in gross mortgage lending
24 August, 2018
New figures out today show that gross mortgage lending increased by 7.6% in July 2018 to £24.6bn, ahead of August’s base rate rise. According to UK Finance, mortgage approvals by the main high street banks fell by 0.8% year-on-year, although remortgage approvals actually rose by 2.8%. Peter Tyler, director at UK Finance, says: “July saw… Read more »
Housing Associations asked for 25% increase in building in return for strategic partnerships
21 August, 2018
Homes England and the National Housing Federation have signed a joint letter asking housing associations to increase building of affordable homes by at least 25% if they are to sign partnership deals. The letter also asks them to commit to a minimum of 1,000 additional grant-funded affordable homes started on site by March 2022. For… Read more »
FTBs could be underestimating upfront cost of buying first home
14 August, 2018
A new study out this week shows that many first time buyers are underestimating how much money they need to save in order to get onto the housing ladder. The report by the Yorkshire Building Society reveals that in only two regions of the country were people setting aside enough money. In London and the… Read more »
House prices hit new record of £230,280 – Halifax
7 August, 2018
According to the Halifax, house prices across the UK rose by 1.4% in July and over the second quarter of 2018, they rose by 3.3% to a new record of £230,280. However the bank said that there was still caution in the market with approvals sent to remain broadly flat until the end of the… Read more »
Bank of England raises interest rates to 0.75%
2 August, 2018
After weeks of speculation, the Bank of England raised interest rates for only the second time since the Financial Crash, from 0.5% to 0.75%. Rates are now at their highest level since March 2009 and Mark Carney, the Bank’s governor, said there would be further “gradual” and “limited” rate rises to come. For more information… Read more »
London’s boroughs are starting to build again, and the time is ripe for councils to build more
20 July, 2018
A new report out this month examines council-led housebuilding in London, assessing the potential for scaling up and the challenges preventing councils from increasing their housing delivery to its full potential. Borough Builders: Delivering more housing across London, has found that 14 boroughs have direct delivery programmes using in-house teams – with 10,900 homes in… Read more »
Censeo shortlisted for National Housing Award
17 July, 2018
We are absolutely thrilled to have been shortlisted for a 2018 National Housing Award in the Best Financial Partner Category. The ceremony will be held on 6th September so if you are on Twitter be sure to follow the hashtag #NHA18 and @NHAwards18 to see whether we’ve been successful for the second time, following our… Read more »
New study finds that borrowers could save thousands remortgaging
10 July, 2018
A report just out shows that borrowers who are currently on a standard variable rate mortgage could save up to £6,530 if they were to remortgage. A study by Legal & General Mortgage Club shows that with interest rates still at record lows and speculation of a rate rise later this year, it means that… Read more »
Bank of Mum and Dad starts lending to ‘second steppers’
2 July, 2018
For some time now, we’ve noticed that the so-called ‘Bank of Mum and Dad’ has had a significant role to play in getting thousands of first time buyers onto the housing ladder. Now we see a new report out that shows increasing numbers of second steppers – those looking to move further up the ladder… Read more »
Mortgage applications rise by 3% in year to May 2018
29 June, 2018
New data out this week shows that the number of applications approved by high street banks rose by 3%. Much of this was driven by remortgages which rose by 18%. The report by UK Finance also revealed that gross mortgage lending was £22.2 billion in May, 8.8% higher than in the same month the year… Read more »