Mortgages

House prices fell just 0.1% in November adding substance to the view they are likely to remain relatively flat for some time.

Housing Minister Grant Shapps has continued his pressure on the FSA to relax its Mortgage Market Review (MMR) proposals, arguing the rules must be proportionate and not put "unnecessary prescription" on the industry.

Research by Tenet Lime has revealed 33% of brokers are looking to exit the mortgage industry in the next five years, with two-thirds of those planning to leave before the end of 2012.

The role of a BDM has significantly evolved in the mortgage industry since the onset of the financial crisis.

The CML has declared the contraction in mortgage lending "the most severe on record", with mortgage loans down by more than 50% and gross mortgage lending down 55% since 2007.

While this extended period of low interest rates is welcome news for borrowers on variable rates, it is an expensive headache for lenders.

The downward pressure on house prices will continue next year as the imbalance in supply and demand results in property prices falling 2% by the end of 2011, forecasts suggest.

Many would find it hard to sympathize with mortgage lenders, but it’s easy to see why the FSA’s CP10/28 might not be much to their taste.

Nationwide has reported a 26% rise in profits after it saw impaired loans almost halve during the first half of 2010.

Reading across the RDR's independent and restricted advice labels to the mortgage market will confuse clients, the Association of Mortgage Intermediaries (AMI) warns.