UK mortgage approvals beat expectations as housing market reopens July 29, 2020 UK mortgage approvals beat expectations and rocketed in June as the housing market reopened from the coronavirus lockdown, the latest figures have shown. The number of mortgages approved by UK banks rose to 40,000 in June after May’s record crash to just 9,300, the Bank of England said today. Analysts had predicted a rise to [...]
Booming mortgage lending swings Co-op Bank back to profit February 24, 2022 A sharp rebound in mortgage lending amid a rampant UK housing market swung Co-operative Bank back to profit last year, the bank announced today. A near three-fold increase in net mortgage lending pushed profits at Co-op Bank to over £30m, up from a £103.7m loss in 2020. An ultra-low interest rate environment stoked demand in [...]
Halifax: UK house price growth expected to be ‘much flatter’ 1 per cent in 2022 December 17, 2021 UK house price growth will remain robust next year but will be “much flatter” as rising inflation and interest rates, coupled with the end of government support measures, place greater pressure on household budgets. Prices are expected to inch up around 1 per cent in 2022, but “forecast uncertainty remains very high,” Halifax said this [...]
UK assets in focus this week November 16, 2022 This week’s focus in markets apart from the US’s weak inflation print last week is on Sterling and the FTSE in the wake of a raft of economic data points, as well as the new Chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s Autumn statement on Thursday the 17th. UK inflation this morning came in at a level not seen [...]
UK house prices jump again in September as market defies gravity October 7, 2020 UK house prices rose at the fastest pace in four years in September despite the raging coronavirus pandemic as people working from home sought more space, according to the Halifax house price index. Yet the lender said it is “unlikely” that the British housing market will “remain immune” to the historic economic slowdown. House prices [...]
Higher interest rates and rebounding loan demand to boost UK banks February 10, 2022 A higher interest rate environment and a rebound in loan demand is set to boost Britain’s biggest lenders. UK banks’ net interest margins will widen on the Bank of England and the world’s biggest central banks launching a rate hike cycle this year to tame inflation, analysts are betting. Final quarter earnings for UK banks [...]
Santander beats forecasts following strong UK performance October 27, 2021 Spanish bank Santander smashed profit expectations for the third quarter driven by robust lending activity in its mortgage unit. The lender pulled in more than £1.4bn in pre-tax profits in the year to September, up nearly 400 per cent. Over the same period last year, profits were just £299m. A red hot UK housing market, [...]
UK mortgage approvals soar to highest level since before 2008 Global Financial Crisis January 4, 2021 UK home lending defied expectations of a slowdown in the housing market boom that started after the first Covid-19 lockdown
First time buyers face significant barriers as earnings lag behind soaring house price growth November 25, 2021 First time buyers are facing significant hurdles to raising a deposit as they come up against high prices relative to average earnings. House price growth has surpassed earnings growth over the past year and the ratio of house prices to earrings has hit a record high, the Nationwide House Price Index set out. A 20 [...]
OnTheMarket lifts profit expectations on the back of strong interim results October 12, 2021 The company behind property search website OnTheMarket.com saw profits soar in the first half of FY21 amid strong interest. The company saw revenues climb to £14.9m in the first half of the year, an increase of 46 per cent compared to the same period in 2020, while adjusted operating profit soared by 163 per cent [...]