The amount of money saved into Lifetime Isas more than doubled last year as deposits into tax-free accounts aimed at first-time buyers topped £1billion for the first time. In a sign the Lifetime Isa is becoming increasingly popular, the number of accounts which received deposits in 2019-20 also more than doubled to 545,000, according to … Read more
Aspiring homeowners are being offered a potential leg-up as mortgage deals for those hoping to buy with a five per cent deposit re-emerge. Several mortgage lenders including Bank of Ireland, Coventry Building Society and Accord, part of Yorkshire Building Society, are now offering 95 per cent loan-to-value deals. In addition, several other major lenders are … Read more
Gold miners in Wales have unearthed new deposits near a historic pit that supplied precious metal used in Royal wedding rings. Bosses say exploration was ‘more successful than we could reasonably have anticipated’ as they searched around the former Clogau mine in the Welsh hills. The North Wales mine was the site of a mini-gold-rush … Read more
Pets in lets: Government makes it harder to impose ‘blanket bans’ on tenants having animals – but landlords want to charge higher deposits The Government’s model rental contract now allows pets as the ‘default’ Landlords using it will need to provide a ‘good reason’ for not allowing animals The industry body says they should be … Read more
The lockdown property market mini-boom that sent house prices climbing spelt bad news for first-time buyers last year. Against a backdrop of rising property prices and a mortgage crunch as banks and building societies reined in lending, the size of the average first-time buyer deposit by nearly £11,000 last year to more than £57,000 – … Read more
Bank of Glum and Dad: Parents feel squeeze as first-time buyer deposits rocket up to 25% to almost £60k House prices reached record highs in November, with the average deposit for first-time buyers leaping to nearly £60,000 Previous research showed more than half of first-time buyers under 35 relied on money from their parents Soaring … Read more
First-time buyers in Vaduz, Bern and Copenhagen can save up for a home the quickest, according to a new report – while those in Zagreb and Monaco could have to wait a whopping 25 years. The research by housebuilder Barratt Homes, which used statistics from the Numbeo global index, looked at how fast people could … Read more
Whatever way you look at it, the property market had an exceptional year in 2020. It went from trundling along quite nicely in the first three months of the year, to a complete three-month shutdown during lockdown – during which time dire predictions were made about a coming crash. Against the odds, house prices surged … Read more
The amount of money withdrawn over the Post Office counter last month was the highest it had been in all of 2020, but cash usage continues to lag pre-coronavirus levels. Around £641million was withdrawn by individuals in December, the most since £634million was withdrawn in March, while personal and business withdrawals totalled £664million, data from … Read more
Now home buyers need to stump up 40 per cent deposits to get a mortgage as economic devastation from coronavirus threatens a new credit crunch TSB has withdrawn two-year mortgage deals with less than 40 per cent deposits Barclays has ended mortgages for borrowers with less than a 25 per cent deposit A Bank of … Read more