Mortgages

Property prices went up by 2.1% on average in the past month, taking the annualised rate above 20%, and forcing Nationwide to up its full-year 2004 forecast just as economists got the news personal debt has topped the £1trn mark.

Government changes to council tax band valuation rates could result in a rise in appeals because of greater reliance on automated valuation model (AVM) solutions to deliver the new figures, says Richard Sexton, national business development manager E.surv....

Homeowners now have just 30 days to pay stamp duty land tax on any commercial or residential property purchase, according to new rules issued by the Inland Revenue.

Officials at Bradford & Bingley's the MarketPlace have gone on the attack against offset mortgages as still "the privilege of the wealthy" because they are substantially more expensive than variable rate deals to the average borrower.

Some £16bn of additional taxpayers' money will be used to meet upgraded government targets for supplying social and private housing, and to meet needs of Southeast residents in particular.

More public spending on accommodation should see the number of "social rented homes" increase by 10,000 or 50% annually on today's figures by 2008, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister says.

First-time buyers are likely to find it even tougher to get onto the property ladder at present as the latest house price inflation index from the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister suggests property prices have grown 12.2% in the last 12 months.

The North/South economic divide in the UK is continuing to shrink as northern regions of Britain carries on raking in the biggest property gains, a Halifax survey suggests.

House price growth in Wales has finally begun to slow after rising steadily since January 2001, says the Principality.

Intermediaries need a consistent approach to the charges levied for FOS and FSCS membership later this year as costs for most advisers will be significantly higher, argues the Association of Mortgage Intermediaries.