Mortgage News

The Association of Mortgage Intermediaries (AMI) has responded to the Financial Services Authority's (FSA) call for mortgage lenders to treat customers who are facing arrears and repossessions fairly.

Commenting on an upcoming crisis at Northern Rock, Louise Cuming, head of mortgages at moneysupermarket.com, said: "The key feature of Northern Rock's £585 million loss in the first half of the year is the significant increase in the percentage of borrowers who are in arrears.

The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has reiterated today its call for mortgage lenders to ensure they are treating customers fairly in the current market conditions as its latest review finds weaknesses in the way some lenders are handling arrears and repossessions - particularly for consumers with impaired credit histories.

RBS and NatWest announces they are to cut rates by up to 0.30% - with the prices on the majority of new fixed and tracker mortgages lowered by at least 0.10%. These deals are available through RBS and NatWest branches.

The most recent intermediary survey conducted by IMLA reveals that brokers anticipate that mortgage volumes will contract slightly over the coming 12 months, while just under half expect house prices will fall.

A report published by British Gas and the IPPR following the recent BG “Green Streets” initiative recommends “the creation of new green mortgage packages by banks and energy companies to pay for the installation of energy saving technology”.

Commenting on Abbey's new mortgage dominance, Louise Cuming, head of mortgages at moneysupermarket.com, said: "Abbey overtaking HBOS as Britain's mortgage leader continues the theme of 2008 being the year of new ‘movers and shakers' in the mortgage industry.

Continual changes to mortgage rates and products are baffling borrowers who risk making the wrong decision because of an information overload, says independent broker My Mortgage Direct.

The increase in total net lending to individuals in June (£4.0 billion) was below the increase in May and the previous six-month average, according to figures from the Bank of England (BoE).

The spiralling cost of living and scarcity of affordable mortgages has led to millions of people abandoning the idea of home ownership.

Nationwide Building Society is giving mortgage customers the chance to be "mortgage free" for a year (up to a maximum of £10,000).

Retirement specialist LV= has announced that its new equity release product - Flexible Lifetime Mortgage - is now available online through a partnership with Assureweb.

Halifax, the UK's largest mortgage lender, has announced a further reduction to a selection of its mortgage products.

From today, Yorkshire Building Society is reducing the rates on many of its fixed rate mortgages by up to 0.50% and launching a new low fixed rate deal with a higher fee.

June’s mortgage lending, rising by £3.8 billion, was weaker than in May. There was again a record low number of house purchase approvals, though levels of remortgaging were similar to the previous month, according to figures from the British Bankers’ Association (BBA).