Mortgage borrowers have been rattled by fears that their interest rate may rise following indications from the Bank of England that the first increase in the official cost of borrowing is only months away.
British mortgage lending picked up strongly in June, adding to signs that the housing market is regaining momentum, but a sharp drop in lending to businesses was a reminder that the economic recovery has yet to find a sounder footing.
Average house prices across the UK have now exceeded their Autumn 2007 peak and further increases are expected, according to the latest research figures. Findings of the research by the Connells Group, which has a network of over 520 estate agencies across the country, show a 2% uptick in prices compared to the peak.
British banks reported a surge in demand for mortgages in the second quarter, and expected it to remain robust over the summer, a Bank of England survey showed on Monday.
Over the last ten years the value of UK housing has rocketed by an eye-watering £1.41 trillion to stand at £5.75 trillion, according to analysis. But the huge leap in growth has not been spread even, shows the data put together by estate agency Savills.
British mortgage approvals fell unexpectedly in May, Bank of England data showed on Monday, countering other recent signs that activity in the housing market has picked up in recent months.
The superyachts are coming to Miami, specifically to Watson Island in Biscayne Bay. If the location doesn’t ring a bell, think of it as the former South Florida base for the Goodyear blimp and terminus for Chalk’s seaplane operations, with incredible views of the downtown skyline.
Given the events over the weekend concerning the Greek debt crisis the great big fat question is whether the banks will be open tomorrow, Monday, or not. Standard economic sense in these matters says that they should either be closed or that withdrawals will have to be tightly limited: so called “capital controls”.
The survey, that looked at the comparative cost of more than 200 items in each city, including housing, food, transportation, goods and entertainment, surprisingly named its most expensive city for expats to live as Luanda, Angola. Despite more than half the population living in poverty, imported goods and safe living conditions are costly.
The Hampshire district of Hart is the most desirable place to live in the UK for the third year running, according to a new survey. The 2013 Halifax Quality of Life Survey found Hart residents are the healthiest in the UK, with 97.4% reporting being in good or fairly good health. They also live the longest in the UK, with an average male life expectancy of 82.9 years, compared to the national average of 79 years.