Posts Tagged ‘credit crunch’
Thursday, September 4th, 2008
We’ve had a year of bad news on many fronts. We all first learned of the credit crunch last July and it probably took a bit of understanding for most of us. Then gradually we saw in dismay the effects on individuals and businesses across the country - these effects are still being felt.
In the last few months however there has been nothing but good news in the Mortgage Market. First there was that odd change in banking practice which allowed the Bank of England to step in and inject liquidity into the market. Then the Libor rate came down followed tentatively by a few mortgage rates. Recently mortgage availability improved dramatically with plenty new products available and signs of mortgage providers competing for business. Now even 95% mortgages are available and amazingly rates are down to very close to what they were when the whole process started last July when the Northern Rock was forced to go cap in hand to the bank of England for money.
On top of all that we have the Government’s “help the market” package which was criticised in some quarters but still provides definite savings for buyers in the crucial “£125,000 to £175,000″ price range. Even better news for house buyers - less good for house sellers - is the fact that house prices are down in most areas - but crucially there remain huge numbers of houses on the market. This means deals can be done and buyers will steadily become aware of that. Like all market movements there will be a turning point. Have we reached it yet? Maybe not quite, but we seem to be edging ever more closely to it and it may not be very long till the “credit crunch” is nothing but a distant and unhappy memory.
Tags: credit crunch
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Thursday, May 8th, 2008
The Scottish housing market is still feeling the impact of the slump in house prices throughout the rest of the UK, it has been claimed.
In a report that may be of interest to househunters hoping to buy a house in Scotland, Teresa Hunter, writing for Scotland on Sunday pointed out that Scottish buyers still have to “borrow from the same pool of mortgages”.
She stated that although Abbey and the Bank of Scotland have ‘trimmed’ their deals recently, prices remain high and may do for some time.
“Undeniably the market is slowing, and I’m not convinced Scotland can remain immune, although it may sidestep the excessive price corrections already evident in some overcooked hotspots in the south,” she said.
However, the figures appear to disagree, with the March Halifax House Price Index indicating that over the last ten years Scotland has experienced a 271 per cent increase in house prices.
Tags: credit crunch, housing market, Sottish buyers
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Wednesday, May 7th, 2008
High street bank Lloyds TSB has predicted that there will be a ten per cent drop in house prices over the next two years, it has emerged.
According to the Telegraph, acting finance director Tim Tookey has forecast a further market downturn for 2008-2009.
In a statement that may be of interest to people looking to buy a house in Scotland, Mr Tookey claimed that the extent of the strains on the housing market have yet to be made clear.
However, he commented that the existing stringent lending conditions have enabled the bank to increase its share of the market and its profit margins.
“Our flow of new mortgages in the first few months of the year has been significantly higher than our stock position of 8.5 per cent,” he said.
Meanwhile, Scotland’s housing market appears to be defying the credit crunch, according to the Times, since it continues to outperform the rest of the UK, which may be good news for those who want to buy a house in Scotland.
Tags: credit crunch, House Prices
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Wednesday, April 30th, 2008
Further weakness in the UK’s housing market has been exposed by statistics revealed by Nationwide, something that may be of interest to people looking to buy a house in Scotland.
The building society’s recorded house price figures show that they decreased by 1.1 per cent, representing a fall of one per cent over the past year.
Fionnuala Earley, Nationwide’s chief economist, commented that this follows the trend that has occurred over the last six months and “reflects the weakening sentiment in the market brought about by poor affordability and tighter financial market conditions”.
Ms Earley went on to say that a lack of demand from people stepping onto the housing ladder - potentially including Scottish first-time buyers - higher mortgage rates and tighter lending criteria have resulted in a record low in terms of house purchases.
However, it was claimed yesterday (April 29th) by property consultancy Knight Frank that the Scottish market was “remarkably robust” compared to the rest of the UK, which may be welcome news to those hoping to buy a house in Scotland.
Tags: credit crunch, House Prices, housing market
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