Net mortgage lending in the UK fell 60% from December 2008 to January this year. According to the Bank of England the figure, which strips out redemptions and repayments, plummeted from £1.79bn to £690m in that time.
That was the second lowest figure ever recorded and represents just half of the level analysts had predicted. Mortgage lending has fallen from a peak of about £10 billion per month at the height of the market.
In January of 2008, net mortgage lending was 10 times higher than January this year - £6.91bn.

via yourmortgage.co.uk

THE Commonwealth Bank has defied the Federal Government's plea to tread carefully and jacked up fees for new homeowners by a staggering 50 per cent. As the Government urged banks to consider their struggling mortgage holders, the Commonwealth also raised its fee for people selling their home by 17 per cent. It means families forced by the economic downturn to sell their homes - potentially at a loss given the falling market - now have to pay the bank $350 on their way out, up from $300.

via news.com.au

Safe Home Income Plans (SHIP), the equity release industry body, has published its full year figures for 2008, revealing a 9% year-on-year decline in the value of lending. The total value of new business written reached £1.095bn, down from £1.210bn in 2007. There was also a 4% fall in the number of plans sold, from 29,293 to 28,224. SHIP argued the figures demonstrate the strength of the sector, and in particular lifetime mortgages, as the decline is much smaller than the 30% fall in overall mortgage lending.

via yourmortgage.co.uk

UK homeowners are no longer cashing in on the value of their properties to fund spending, official figures show.
Quarterly Bank of England figures on housing equity withdrawal showed a second successive negative reading between July and September. Housing equity withdrawal is when owners take out bigger mortgages, extracting money to spend on major purchases such as cars.

via news.bbc.co.uk

A group of 222 homeowners trapped in shared appreciation mortgages (SAMS) have begun a new stage in their fight for compensation by sending out a letter before legal action to Barclays and HBOS (now part of Lloyds Banking Group). SAMS are a form of equity release sold by Barclays and HBOS during the late 1990s, when around 15,000 people are estimated to have taken out the loans.

via financemarkets.co.uk

Gross mortgage lending reached an estimated £12.6bn in December, the lowest monthly figure since April 2001, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML).
December’s lending was down 11% from £14.2bn in November and 47% on December 2007. Lending totalled £256.4bn over 2008 as a whole, down 30% on £363.7bn in 2007 and the lowest annual figure since 2002.

via yourmortgage.co.uk

These bright and colourful flocked letters, created by flamboyant designer Johnny Egg, make great statement pieces and are guaranteed to liven up any room. Carved out of wood and covered with flock, they can also be engraved with personal information as gifts for special anniversaries or new babies.

via shropshirestar.com

Yahia Karin ventured out in Gaza on Sunday to see his home after a series of furious clashes between Israeli troops and Hamas fighters in the area. But there was nothing there. "I came to see my home, but as you can see, there is no home here anymore," the 54-year-old said as he surveyed the charred ruins on the spot where his residence once stood in Zeitun, an outlying southern neighbourhood of Gaza City. "Everything has been completely destroyed,".

via news.iafrica.com

One of the nation's largest builders is trying to shock the flatlining new-home market into action with an incentive plan that will slash monthly mortgage payments for qualified buyers. Luxury homebuilder Toll Brothers Inc., said Wednesday that it will offer buyers of its existing new-home inventory a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage at an interest rate of 3.99% with no points paid up-front. That contrasts with a rate of 5.59% for the average 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage with 0.3 up-front point, as reported this week by Bankrate.com.

via money.cnn.com

Gross mortgage lending reached an estimated £12.6bn in December, the lowest monthly figure since April 2001, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML). December’s lending was down 11% from £14.2bn in November and 47% on December 2007. Lending totalled £256.4bn over 2008 as a whole, down 30% on £363.7bn in 2007 and the lowest annual figure since 2002. Recent mortgage approval figures from the Bank of England indicate lending will decline further in the coming months.

via yourmortgage.co.uk

The credit crunch has made it hard for anyone to get a loan these days - and borrowers who can only make a small down payment are facing even tougher odds. But it's not impossible to land a low-down payment loan. The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) is actually still offering 3.5%-down mortgages to qualified buyers, even as the subprime loans that these types of borrowers had traditionally relied upon have dried up.

via money.cnn.com

Northern Rock will be cutting back on its mortgage redemption policy which will see fewer customers having to leave the bank in order to refinance their loan, so that it can support the Government's initiative to increase lending. Since being nationalised almost a year ago, Northern Rock has had to adhere to a strict redemption policy as part of its agreement with the Government. This was to prevent it from taking a bigger market share than was deemed fair, considering that it could have an advantage over competitors due to its nationalised status.

via fairinvestment.co.uk

Within the next few weeks, customers of Smyrna-based Sunshine Mortgage will be wondering where to send their February payments. Like thousands of homeowners across the country, they’ve been hearing through news reports that their lender — like so many others — is closing down. Most of the time, experts said, when lenders close or file for bankruptcy, loans are transferred to another company with minimal disruption. But problems can happen, especially if the consumer is behind in payments already.

via ajc.com

HEAD of commercial lending at Principality Building Society, Peter Hughes, has been appointed as the new chairman of the Council of Mortgage Lenders in Wales.
With an extensive knowledge of the housing agenda, Mr Hughes also sits on the national CML social housing panel. He succeeds Mick McGuire, who was chair of CML Cymru for three years from 2005. Mr Hughes said: “I am looking forward to taking on the challenge as chair of CML Cymru, as the lending market currently faces a unique set of conflicting pressures.

via walesonline.co.uk

Mortgage lenders are continuing to demand larger deposits as they ration home loans to their customers. In the past month the proportion of new mortgage deals requiring at least a 25% deposit has risen, from 54% to 60%. And 25% of all deals on offer in fact require a 40% deposit, according to the information service Moneyfacts.
The Bank of England revealed last week that banks and building societies expect to rein in their lending even more in the coming months.

via news.bbc.co.uk