October house price fell by 2.2% in October, which pushes the overall figure to 13.7% for the house price drop for the past year according to Halifax.

The average cost of a home in the UK is now set at £168,176 which is nearly £30K less than it was a year ago.  This means that we are looking at prices as they were in October of 2005.

The market, according to lenders, is challenging because of the economic strife and the dearth of mortgages.

Nationwide have reported a drop of 14.6% in house prices over the past year, whilst simply comparing prices suggests a 15% drop.

Despite the continuous speculation that the housing market is going to get worse before it gets better, the Halifax’s chief lender thinks that there are signs of the market starting to stabilise as house prices become more affordable.

The price of a house in comparison to earnings ratio has fallen below 5.0, which is the first time in 4 years.  There is hope that the ratio will improve further over the forthcoming months.

House prices are now falling at a faster rate than that of the recession in the 90s and will mortgage lending at an all time low, it is likely that this will continue.

Interest rates have been cut by the Bank of England, which should give relief eventually to high street rates.  At this juncture the problem is not so much the fact that mortgages are tough to pay back, but the fact that the size of the deposit that is needed to get a mortgage in the first place is often out of the reach of many.

The credit crunch has seen a turn-around for lenders with many only preparing to lend to borrowers with significant equity in their existing homes or those who are able to put down sizeable deposits.  Banks and building societies are set to restrict their lending more over the forthcoming months for those who are first time buyers, making the Governments Shared Ownership and New HomeBuy Schemes more inviting.

The days of 100% and even 95% have gone and most deals will require a 15% deposit, so for many Shared Ownership is providing a life line to the property ladder.

If you want to know more about shared ownership schemes, then contact Click n go Mortgages here.

Following the recent down turn in the market, we will be looking at a more sensible and stable housing market.

The credit crunch has called for officials to analyse the mistakes that have been made and we are being told that the days of mortgages valued at five times a salary are over, as are inflated house prices.

Although the credit crunch caught many off guard – many who have been living on the credit – the credit crunch will now correct the problems caused by lending to those who cannot afford repayments.

The credit crunch, will leave in its wake, many repossession and the end of property ownership dreams as well as negative equity, but hopefully this will be the last time that we such an economic decline.

The problem, that many are now facing up to, is the fact that borrowing more than you could actually afford was only going to land you in hot water.

Fault has rightly be placed with the banks and The Bank of England is calling for tighter controls on the way that money is lent.

We were living in a credit bubble that has now burst.

Property shows that glorify and ‘fuel the greed’ for easy money have also been blamed and it is worth noting that although people have made money through property development, these people are few.

The days of being obsessed with the value of your home is over and a time when we bought a house because we fell in love with it is just around the corner.   We are going to go back to saving and buying a property because it suits the needs of our family and it is where you want to live.

The Government is now tackling this by pushing shared ownership and affordable housing.  This type of social housing is giving people the chance to get onto the property ladder without getting further into debt and having a realistic idea of what they can actually afford.

If you want to speak to an expert about your mortgage or a shared ownership mortgage, then contact Click n go Mortgages on 0845 0945 474 or email us here.

September has seen a record 8% fall in annual house price figures in England and Wales.

The 8% figure is almost double that of August, giving more fuel to the fire that an estimated 1.2 billion people will be living in homes worth less than their mortgage.

The fall last month is biggest annual drop after August’s 4.6% drop, which was a record on its own.

This is the 13th month that the annual rate of house price growth has declined and more evidence of the pending recession.

Wales has seen a huge slide of 10.7%, making it the only region to have a double digit dive.  This is quickly followed by the East Midlands and South West, with 9.9% and 9.7% falls.

The South West, South East, North East and East Midlands have seen drops of 2% with Yorkshire and the Humber recording drops of 1.2% in September.

London, typically, is still just about holding onto its house prices and has had the smallest year on year comparable decline of 6.1%, followed swiftly by the North West with a mere 6.3%.

The story goes that we are going to be looking at a 50% overall drop in house prices, over the forthcoming months, so with this in mind should we all be buying in London?  Let us know what you think of this story.  If you have any questions about your mortgage, or how you can get onto the property ladder in these ‘dark days’, then get in touch with Click n go Mortgages.

Following the 37 billion spent on bailing out The Royal Bank of Scotland, HBOS and Lloyds TSB, The Bank of England is looking at tightening all lending to avoid a repeat of this situation in the future.

Banks expanded to much during the ‘good times’ and did not have enough funding to cope with the fall out.  Now 1.2 billion people could be looking at negative equity as house prices drop 50% over the forthcoming months.

What do you think about this story?  If you wan tto talk to someone about your mortgage, then contact Click n go Mortgages today.

This is a question that people have been asking for months, so it is hardly news that over half of all first time buyers and key workers don’t know what shared ownership schemes are all about.
A survey carried out proves that the Government’s affordable housing schemes are still an enigma to many, especially to those who would actually benefit from them.

It is thought, following the survey, that around 48% of key workers and first times buyers have either not heard of shared ownership or did not know that they qualified for them

13% of people in these groups were convinced that they would not qualify for such shared ownership or shared equity schemes.

The fact is that around 97% of first time buyers would and do qualify for shared ownership schemes, as most are not earning over the £60k threshold. In light of this, calls are being made for better marketing and promotion of such schemes.

It is also clear from the research that many felt that the schemes were not attractive and would probably mean sacrificing some sort of quality of life.

A major client director of propertyfinder.com has said that there is clear widespread ignorance amongst the Government’s target audience and that many who do qualify are confused by what is available and how they work.

Another amazing statistic is that 1 in 4 who are earning less than £30,000 has never even heard of the affordable housing schemes, so a huge effort is call for by the Government to publicise these schemes.

It is evident that the Government is doing a lot to help first time buyers, but more promotion and awareness needs to be given to these schemes.

If you are in any doubt about shared ownership, then speak to us at Click n go Mortgages and get the advice that you need to get onto the property ladder.