Mortgages

The Financial Services Authority (FSA) is tightening its oversight of commercial property lending in a move which could increase the cost of loans significantly.

Loans for home purchases reached their highest number since December 2009 in November thanks to the loosest mortgage lending conditions seen since the Lehman collapse, according to the latest Mortgage Monitor from e.surv chartered surveyors.

UK Asset Resolution (UKAR), a company set up a year ago to manage the closed mortgage books of Bradford & Bingley and the asset management arm of Northern Rock, is to shut an office in Newcastle where about 700 people work.

The Treasury is expected to close a loophole that allows wealthy individuals to avoid paying stamp duty on expensive property transactions in draft legislation for the Finance Bill today.

JC Flowers, the American private equity firm, has set aside a £1.5bn "war chest" to buy mortgage books from British banks after failing to purchase Northern Rock.

Pacific Life Re has re-opened the debate surrounding need for protection to be made compulsory in some capacity after the government unveiled its mortgage indemnity guarantee scheme.

A leading Liberal Democrat has claimed the taxpayer is being "taken for a ride" over the sale of Northern Rock to a consortium led by Virgin, amid fears the bank wil have its assets stripped.

Chancellor George Osborne has not extended the Stamp Duty holiday for first-time buyers, with the Autumn Statement revealing the government believes it has proved "ineffective".

Nationwide figures have today revealed average UK house prices rose by 0.4% in November and 1.6% on a year ago, adding to the mixed picture across the major house price indices.

House prices will increase by 15% over the next five years due to a shortage of available properties, according to economists.