Mortgages

Consumer confidence in the UK housing market slipped last month, suggesting the property boom might have reached its peak, the Woolwich Consumer Confidence Index reveals.

Investing in off-plan properties comes with particular challenges that consumers must bear in mind given today's market of rising interest rates and potentially falling yields, says Landlord Mortgages.

A warning from Bank of England governor Mervyn King last month suggesting house prices might fall has slashed consumer confidence in the housing market, says Nationwide Building Society.

Proposed home information packs will leave homeowners vulnerable to "burglars, snoopers and stalkers" if sellers are required to detail security systems, suggests the Law Society.

Nearly half of parents who believe their children want to become homeowners say they are willing to lend them a ‘financial hand', says the Joseph Rowntree Foundation.

Most mortgage intermediaries have decided whether to stay independent or become part of a network when mortgage regulation comes into effect in October, reveals Birmingham Midshires.

Increasing interest rates do not seem to have deterred people from borrowing more as new findings from the Bank of England suggest total debt in the UK almost hit the £1 trillion mark in May.

Another indication of the pricking of Britain's house price bubble has been published today in the form of Nationwide's latest index figures suggesting price rises in June slowed by nearly half on the previous month.

Mortgage Express has launched a new initiative which will enable mortgage intermediaries to get their hands on a mortgage offer as soon as it becomes available.

The UK property boom seems to have reached its peak as house price rises in June slowed for the third month in a row, according to a survey by Hometrack.