Mortgages

Britain's property boom could be over for good and homeowners should no longer rely on their houses to fund retirement, housing minister Grant Shapps has warned.

First-time buyers need an average deposit of £29,000 to buy a property, a report by the Halifax concludes.

Mortgage approvals reached their lowest level for 20 months in November, while net mortgage lending dropped to the lowest in over a decade, British Bankers' Association (BBA) figures suggest.

Apprentice contestant Christopher Farrell has pleaded guilty to four counts of mortgage fraud.

AT8's Mark Loosmore examines the impact of Mortgage Brain's acquisition of TrigoldCrystal.

UK house prices will flat line next year ending 2% lower but the number of repossessions will also fall, according to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS).

Brokers spend on average a quarter of their time, equivalent to 1.25 working days per week, chasing cases or putting right errors, according to the latest research.

Gross mortgage lending in November fell to its lowest figure since 2000 at an estimated £11.1bn, according to the CML.

Mortgage Brain has bought the TrigoldCrystal Group for £6.8m or an alternate combination of cash, loan notes and shares totalling £9.9m.

The housing market is being stifled by a lack of first-time buyers and economic confidence, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) says.