Property Rescue Blog

According to the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR), interest rates in the UK will remain low for years to come. The current level of 0.5% will hold through 2011, and a rate of 2% won't occur until approximately 2014.

News that the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) has expressed skepticism about whether the economy in the UK got out of the recession during the third quarter of 2009 has reignited worries that end is not near yet in terms of financial troubles.

Through most of the year, the Bank of England shows that mortgage approvals have increased. However, that positive news is largely offset by the fact that mortgage approvals went down slightly in August and were down on last year.

Even though personal debt in the UK fell during the month of July, it rose once more during the month of June according to the Bank. Indeed, personal debt went up by £700m in August, bringing the total owed in the UK to an astonishing £1,457bn.

Although banks remain very cautious about lending in the midst of a major recession, a deposit of 10% to 20% will help you find deals. Credit history is more critical than ever, as are employment and earnings.

The economic forecasting group Ernst & Young Item Club has recently reported that the rise in house prices in the UK is a "false dawn." In fact, the group says that house prices will not bounce back to their 2007 highs for at least five years.

According to the KPMG UK Banks Performance Benchmarking Survey, the retail arm of High Street banks in the UK will probably experience losses during the second half of 2009. Bad loans are largely to blame, and are expected to continue causing losses at least through 2010.

Sobering news has confirmed what many UK residents already knew: that the ongoing recession and credit crunch have has a tremendous - and negative - impact on their wealth. Indeed, each household saw a reduction in wealth of approximately £31,000.

Even though July's price increases in home sales had many people turning optimistic regarding the economic crisis, a recent statement by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) has quickly negated it. Indeed, the statement by RICS notes that short demand caused the price increases and that a property boom is not imminent.

When the Property Ombudsman announced that there had been a 200% rise in complaints to properties via letting agents in 2008, the numbers were shocking enough. Incredibly, in 2009 the number of complaints has jumped up by another 26%.