Mortgages

The Financial Services Authority has written to firms urging them to ensure their lifetime mortgage advice meets required standards ahead of another market review in late 2007.

Over half of consumers shopping for a mortgage online will consult a financial adviser too because the web fails to meet their expectations, according to research from user experience consultancy Foolproof.

Unsecured loans still offer the best interest rates for borrowers but a shift in the pricing of homeowner loans means some borrowers may now be able to get similar rates for loans of less than £25,000.

Bright Grey is launching a brand awareness campaign targeted at mortgage advisers at the end of the month to promote its menu protection plan.

Average yearly mortgage repayments have risen by over 40% in the last five years, and are likely to reach an average of £7,000 in 2007, warns mform.co.uk.

First-time buyers are having to pay at least £120 per month extra to get onto the property ladder now than they would have paid 12 months ago, according to figures presented by Nationwide.

Gross mortgage lending in December fell 14% from November's all-time high of £33.2bn to £28.6bn, but it was still the highest December on record, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders.

Interest rates would have to rise to 8.5% before borrowers start to feel the same level of financial strain as experienced in 1990, claims Alliance & Leicester.

The average house price in the UK has passed the £200,000 level, according to the Department for Communities & Local Government.

An eminent expert conducting a review of the UK mortgage market in 2004 declared customers should be buying products with long-term fixed rates and that brokers should be pushing these.