Archive for September, 2007

The number of homes sold at £1 million and above has tripled over the last five years.

£1 million pound plus mortgages in England and Wales have increased from 2,249 in June 2002 to 6,170 in June of this year, with London accounting for the highest proportion of sales at 58%.

Halifax Estate Agents surveyed 2,098 postcode districts across England and Wales, and found that 33% had recorded at least one £1 million pound property sale in the last year.

Their survey also showed that sales of million pound mortgages have more than doubled in the North of England, with the majority of these being in Cheshire.

Colin Kemp of Halifax Estate Agents, said: “Million pound property sales are now taking place right across England and Wales and not just in inner London.

“At the same time, million pound property clusters are emerging. In London, million pound sales are centred in Kensington and Chelsea, while other clusters are emerging around Cobham in Surrey and Altrincham in Cheshire”.

Those seeking a lifetime tracker mortgage should look to the HSBC as it has lowered the interest rate on its fee-free mortgage from 6.45% to 6.44%.

Available at up to 90% loan to value, the lifetime tracker follows the Bank of England’s base rate at 0.69% above.

The new mortgage has been given a seal of approval from What Mortgage, and Rob Chesters, head of mortgages at HSBC, said: “We are delighted our fee-free lifetime tracker mortgage has received What Mortgage’s first-ever seal of approval.

“To celebrate, we have lowered the rate on the loan, making it even more attractive to home buyers.”

The growing fascination with DIY looks set to grow as ever increasing numbers of mortgage holders make improvements to make their homes more valuable.

Halifax figures show that nearly 25% of homeowners who carried out DIY in the last year do so in the hope that it would help increase the value of their home.

In addition, over 50% of those that did DIY believe that their work could add up to £5,000 to the value of their property.

The Halifax research found that mortgage holders think that refurbished kitchens and extensions are the most valuable changes that you can make to a property.

Patrick Sawdon of Halifax Valuers, said: “Our research shows that Britain has become a nation of movers and improvers. It’s great to see that so many people are investing time and effort in improving their home.”

However, he also warned that major alterations to your property could end up harming its value rather then helping it. He stated that consulting with professionals is the best idea in such circumstances.

Gus Parks of Bradford & Bingley subsidiary Mortgage Express said that the bank had funding from a £2 billion mortgage book sale before the current crisis, but could suffer if the low level of demand for mortgage-backed securities continued in the longer term.

A spokesman for Alliance & Leicester also denied that recent increases in its near-prime rate were related to its borrowing costs.

Woolwich has introduced new mortgages it expects to appeal to both existing mortgage customers and first time buyers.

First-time buyers can opt for Woolwich’s new 2 year fixed rate mortgage with a rate of 6.29%, which reverts to 0.95% above the base rate.

People interested in a larger mortgage could opt for the option available for up to 85% of the property price worth up to £2 million. This mortgage tracks above the base rate by 0.17%

The Woolwich head of mortgages Andy Gray said: “First-time buyers are looking for complete stability if rates continue to rise and consumers taking out larger loans are looking for a competitive rate combined with the ultimate flexibility to enable them to reduce their mortgage.”