Lending forecast
On Tuesday, the Intermediary Mortgage Lenders Association (IMLA) said it expects gross mortgage lending to top out at £130bn in 2012, £3bn less than the Council of Mortgage Lenders’ (CML) £133bn forecast.
On the up
According to Halifax, Woking in Surrey recorded the biggest rise in house prices among major UK towns and cities, increasing by 16% in 2011.
Payday loans
A survey from housing charity Shelter also revealed that almost seven million people have used credit of some kind to help pay their housing costs with payday loans, unauthorised overdrafts or other loans or credit cards.
Market movers
On Tuesday the Building Societies Association revealed that gross mortgage lending by mutuals was £2.5bn in November, up 24% against November 2010 when lending stood at £2bn.
Crystal ball
Industry experts, including John Charcol, Hometrack and Nationwide, give us their views on where house prices and base rate are headed this year.
Boost business
In her latest blog post, Sally Lakes gives us her top tips for a successful 2012: “You need to get good at marketing because it is the engine room of your business. Without it your company may stall,” she warns.
Down the ladder
This week, the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) revealed that Brazil became the world’s sixth largest economy last year, overtaking the UK, after continuing to see breakneck growth while the UK economy stuttered.
Waive fees
On Thursday, Clydesdale and Yorkshire Banks announced they would be waiving arrangement fees for customers taking out a mortgage before 25 February. This follows in the footsteps of Halifax and Coventry Intermediaries who also launched fee-free deals this week.
Tax avoidance
In the Budget this spring, the government is set to clampdown on Stamp Duty tax avoidance on expensive property and companies hiding their profits.
Free cases
The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) has proposed an overhaul of its funding model which could increase the number of free cases for small businesses from three annually to as many as 25.
……………………….
This week’s top tweets
Darren Middleton
First day back into 2012 and the phones are ringing with loads of house viewing enquiries. It’s like we have not been away at all. Great start to the year!
Alan Lakey
Who would be crazy enough to encourage their offspring to dip their unsullied toes into the murky waters of financial services? Not me.
Lorna Robinson
I’ve just participated in David Cameron’s Happiness Survey. I suspect asking about my anxiety while I’m on Xmas holiday isn’t representative.
Queen_UK
Ed Miliband on the phone. Apparently he wanted to go into Big Brother but Channel 5 said he wasn’t famous enough. Awkward. #cbb
Louis Tomlinson
‘The Iron Lady’ has been classified PG, as it’s unsuitable for miners.
………………………..
And finally…
Architects have come up with a solution to solve London’s housing crisis: a 1,500 metre high tower with room for 100,000 people. Answer to the housing shortage or slice of rolled swiss cheese looky-likey?
