Article(s) associated to this keyword
- Mortgage Approvals Down Again
- Where Now For Mortgage Rates?
- Lloyds TSB in HBOS Takeover
- Turmoil on the Markets Affects Us All
- Lehman Brothers Fails and Merrill Lynch Is Taken Over
- Housebuilder’s Stamp Duty Incentive
- Brown Under Pressure To Boost UK Mortgage Market
- Bail-out Of US Banks Boosts Markets
- Mortgage Rates Cut
- Stamp Duty Holiday Arrives
Mortgage approvals were at their lowest level in August since records began. A number of factors are keeping people out of the housing market, not least concerns over the economy and jobs. The hope is that the Bank rate will come down soon.
With turmoil on the stock market and HBOS being taken over by Lloyds TSB; with Libor rates rising, but the bank rate forecast to come down; with a proposed bail-out of sub-prime debts in the US: where will mortgage rate go next?
Following the weekend’s dramatic events in the US, the UK’s HBOS saw its share price dive. Lloyds TSB has stepped in to buy out HBOS. Meanwhile inter-bank lending rate Libor has jumped and fixed mortgages are bound to rise.
The repercussions following the fall of Lehman Brothers and Merrill Lynch banks in the US at the weekend are going to affect us all, experts warned. Pensions, savings and mortgages will all be affected. Stock markets around the world lost around 4% on Meltdown Monday.
Lehman Brothers has filed for bankruptcy in the US, and Merrill Lynch is being taken over by Bank of America after a weekend of upheaval in the US. Stock Markets suffered on Monday as a result.
Housebuilder Barratt Development is offering to pay house buyers’ stamp duty for properties worth up to £500,000 in a deal stretching to Christmas. As its profits took a plunge, the housebuilder is hoping to boost the housing market.
The US Government’s action to bail out Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae banks has left the UK Government exposed to pressure to take action too. A scheme is being considered which could put mortgages on the books of the Bank of England, making the UK taxpayer responsible.
The announcement by the US Government that it is to effectively nationalise Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac has boosted stock markets around the world. Asian markets and London’s FTSE 100 have all seen more than 3% rises so far.
A number of mortgage providers have, or are expected to, reduce the interest rates on the products they offer – a far more positive move than earlier in the year when costs were rising steadily.
The Government has announced that the starting threshold for stamp duty will be temporarily increased to £175,000. The measure comes into force on 4 September. It is said to be to help individual families in these difficult times.
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