Property Rescue Blog

According to the chief economist of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, Simon Rubinsohn, economic recovery is going to slow due to the upcoming end of the stamp duty holiday. Indeed, Rubinsohn notes that the end of the holiday will have major repercussions for many in the UK - especially first-time home buyers.

In response to the disproportionate number of arrears and repossessions associated with self certification mortgages, the FSA has announced that plans are in place to increase regulations and laws regarding those mortgages. It appears that a great deal of the current housing market crisis is owed to those financial products.

In order to prevent another mortgage crisis, the Financial Services Authority (FSA) has announced plans to make prospective homeowners pass a mortgage affordability test before being given a mortgage on a new home.

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.