Mortgages

Sale-and-rent-back provider Residential Property Solutions (RPS) has launched a charter to encourage other firms to raise their standards and to help consumers and brokers avoid cowboy operators.

More borrowers chose fixed rates over variable rates in Q2 2009, according to Legal & General (L&G) .

Net mortgage lending of £2.3bn by the banks was the weakest monthly rise since early 2001, according to statistics from the British Bankers Association (BBA).

The average number of live mortgage products available to intermediaries has fallen by 6.45% from April to 2,673 in May, according to the June TrigoldCrystal Product Index.

Sesame will run free seminars to help mortgage advisers embed technology into their business to ensure they maximise the benefits of its preferred point of sale system, Mortgage Brain's The Key.

The FSA has referred four firms for enforcement in a clampdown on poor arrears handling, while several more firms are currently being assessed for referral.

Estate agents are registering four house hunters to every available property as demand is outstripping supply across the UK housing market.

Gross mortgage lending declined 2% to £10.3bn in May from April's figure of £10.5bn, according to the latest data from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML).

The Treasury Committee is to undertake a short inquiry into mortgage arrears and access to mortgage finance as part of its continuing examination of the ramifications of the banking crisis.

Property prices will rise by an average 1.4% over the next 12 months, consumers predict, a stark improvement on forecasts last month of a 6.1% drop over the same period.