Mortgages

The number of self-employed people has risen rapidly in recent years, and there are now well over three million people working for themselves in the UK.

It will no longer be compulsory for home information packs to contain a home condition report - effectively killing off the packs.

The average house price in England will be nearly £300,000 in five years time, the Nation Housing Federation (NHF) claims.

The confusion surrounding a start date for the tenancy deposit scheme appears to have been resolved with the announcement today the scheme would not now come into force until 6 April 2007.

Mortgage application fees have soared 22% in the last year, research from financial services website MoneyExpert.com reveals.

A new report has called on the government to work with the financial services industry to create a "home-saver" product which would enable a greater number of homeowners to remove equity from their properties.

The Association of Mortgage Intermediaries (Ami) has published wording to help intermediaries access client information post-completion.

There's an inherent problem with home information packs: while most people agree the current system we have for buying or selling a property is antiquated and needs to be improved, no one can agree on a way to make the process more efficient and consumer-friendly....

The Conservative party has been accused of deliberately misleading the public over home information packs (Hip) and of using their introduction to the housing market next summer as a political football.

The Chancellor has made two new appointments to the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC).