Mortgages

The Mortgage Market Review (MMR) will set house prices tumbling, says the director general of the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML).

Andrew Hagger of Moneynet says if there was ever a time when brokers were needed it is now.

Nationwide's head economist has forecast the base rate may not rise from its historic low of 0.5% until 2012.

Northern Rock is set to sell off part of its mortgage back book in an attempt to repay around two-thirds of its £22.5bn government loan.

Gross mortgage lending fell 14% in August to an estimated £11.4bn, the lowest figure for the month since 2000, according to the CML.

Future sales expectations rose in August, despite the balance of newly agreed sales falling to its lowest level in two years, according to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS).

The housing market continued to be subdued in July, as demand for mortgages failed to match seasonal expectations, according to the CML.

Building society mergers and takeovers will continue but at a slower pace and driven by executive ambition not business distress, according to KPMG.

Unforeseen costs cause 21% of UK homebuyers to go over their initial budget by an average of £23,000, with subsequent spending on the property pushing that figure to over £30,000.

The number of attempted mortgage fraud cases continued to steadily increase by 37% in the first half of the year, according to Experian.