Mortgage News

Newcastle Building Society has bucked the trend and announced the launch of 20 new market-leading products, three of which are best buys, with competitive rates starting at 5.65%.

Household finances have been badly stretched in the past year as the cost of energy has increased by 17% and the cost of food by 12%. And the credit crunch means that the cost of new mortgages has increased, there are fewer mortgages available to choose from, and they are more difficult to obtain.

Just Retirement, the equity release specialist, has announced the removal of up-front fees for its range of equity release mortgages, effective from 14 August 2008 and lasting until 31 December 2008.

New research from HSBC has found that 98% of potential housebuyers have no problem arranging a mortgage, but the home buying market is slowing sharply because people expect house prices to fall further and are not confident in their ability to fund a new property as the cost of living, including mortgages rises.

Mortgage borrowers whose deals are coming to an end will spend more time shopping around and will be more interested in rates and fees than they were a year ago, according to research by Nationwide Building Society.

Zurich is enhancing its protection proposition by introducing several new features designed to provide customers with greater choice and flexibility.

The average homebuyer put down a 22% deposit in June, up from 20% in May, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders.

Michelle Slade, analyst at Moneyfacts.co.uk, comments: "One year ago the financial world changed completely as the credit crunch took hold. Today the world of mortgages is a completely different place.

Citizens Advice Head of Consumer Policy Sue Edwards said: "We are concerned about the increase in mortgage arrears and repossessions revealed in the latest data from the Council of Mortgage Lenders released today.

The latest data from the Council of Mortgage Lenders show no surprises in terms of the number of mortgage arrears and possessions cases in the first half of 2008.

Ray Boulger of John Charcol, the UK's leading independent mortgage adviser commented "As today's no change decision by the MPC was expected, the content of the Bank of England's Quarterly Inflation Report due to be published next Wednesday will perhaps be even more interesting than today's decision.

Darren Cook, mortgage expert at Moneyfacts.co.uk comments: "In recent weeks many lenders have announced cuts in their mortgage rates, leading to many people predicting that we may have turned that corner.

With the nation collectively tightening belts, Yorkshire Bank has announced a summer mortgage deal guaranteed to brighten the moods of homeowners.

Abbey is reducing the rates on some of its two and three-year fixed rate and tracker deals by up to 0.10 per cent. This follows the cut on Friday of Abbey's two and three-year deals by between 0.10 and 0.15 per cent.

Sue Edwards Head of Consumer Policy at Citizens Advice said: "We welcome the findings of the FSA's research on lenders' mortgage arrears and lending practices, which mirror CAB clients' experience.