Nationwide launches its lowest mortgage rate EVER for those with big deposits

Trade body UK Finance data shows some 52 per cent of new mortgage lending is going to borrowers who will still be paying back the loan after their milestone 65th birthday.

The bumper tax take came despite the stamp duty holiday that slashed tax to zero on the first £500,000 of a property’s purchase price until the end of June this year.

Rightmove describes current conditions as the ‘hottest ever competition to buy’, with buyer demand per property for sale more than double pre-pandemic levels.

Israel came in a first place with the average house price increasing 345.7 per cent. The UK, despite its sky high property prices came in at number ten.

Barratt wants to cater to renters who saved during the pandemic by developing dinky flats at a £200,000 discount to the average London house price.

The typical home was worth £255,535 in July, according to the Land Registry-based index – around £19,000 higher than a year earlier.

Emma Jones and partner Kayvan Khanmorady-Gargary found themselves in a perfect storm when renovating their home in Cheshire.

Upgrading homes to meet the targets could cost up to £65bn, according to Government estimates – the majority of which will fall to homeowners.

Britain’s biggest mutual has reduced its two-year fixed rate for borrowers with 40% deposits to just 0.87% – which is one of the cheapest options currently on the market.

The average mortgage rate is edging down, as lenders bring back their full range of products and launch tantalising deals with interest of less than 1 per cent for those with lots of equity.

Soaring house prices have raised sellers’ price expectations – but research suggests hundreds of thousands of homes were down-valued when surveyed by the buyers’ mortgage lender.

More over-55s now want to stay in their homes rather than downsizing in their old age, after the pandemic led them to place a higher value on space and staying within a supportive community.

In Plymouth, on England’s South West coast, the city itself saw house price growth of 5.8 per cent between March 2020 and June 2021, while in the surrounding areas, the average was 16.1 per cent.

Mortgages with 5 per cent deposits made up just 1 per cent of lending at Trussle in July – despite their return being hailed by the Government as the way to ‘turn generation rent into generation buy’.

While buyer demand remains strong, stock levels are down over 26 per cent compared to last year’s average, leaving prospective buyers battling it out for the most in-demand properties.

Almost half of those selling their home in the past two years did so because they were looking for a more peaceful way of life amid the pandemic, new survey reveals.

There were 73,700 property transactions during July on a seasonally-adjusted basis, according to official figures from HMRC, a fall of almost two thirds month-on-month.

Banks are courting first-time home buyers by bringing rates down from their lofty heights, with two-year fixes now available with rates as low as 2.13 per cent for those with 10% deposits.

Three lenders are offering enterprising students the opportunity to buy a home and rent out rooms to make the repayments – though they will need to enlist the help of Mum and Dad.

‘Hundreds’ of buyers are seriously considering new rent-to-own homes backed by £500m pension fund investment – but while it offers a step towards owning a home they need to check the small print.

While one in three homeowners saw their mortgage as ‘an investment in their future’, more than half of renters said it was ‘unrealistic’ they ever would ever purchase a home.

There was a significant 4.5 per cent jump in prices between May and June, which the ONS attributed to the tapering down of the stamp duty tax break.

The cost of renting has jumped to a record high of £1,007 a month, according to Rightmove. And some landlords are now demanding deposits of up to six months’ worth of rent.

There were 27% fewer homes to buy in July than there were at the same time in 2020, according to analysis by agent Hamptons, leading to a surge in temporary renting among movers.

The typical mortgage is now ‘selling out’ in 21 days as rates are pushed ever-lower – but buyers are committing to their deals for longer as they use longer terms to keep up with price rises.

More than 55,000 households used the Government loan to get on the ladder in 2020-21, paying an average of £290,000 for their first home.

Just over a year ago, we took out a new mortgage to move home – fixing for five years at 1.4%. That was very cheap, but if we were looking today, we could get 0.99%

Property price tags have fallen an average £1,076 since mid-July – or 0.3% – driven by a ‘cooling’ at the higher end of the market, according to the website.

Those with energy efficient new-build homes could soon borrow up to £12,000 more on their mortgage with one lender, as a barrage of ‘green’ mortgages hits the market.

With few believing it is acceptable to ask someone outright what they paid for a home, the vast majority adopt under-the-radar tactics and do their research online.

Mortgage rates have continued their downward slide, with multiple deals now available with less than 0.90 per cent interest – but borrowers should watch out for hefty fees.

Since the pandemic started, the cost of a detached property has jumped by 10 per cent to over £500,000 – while flats are worth just 1 per cent more, according to Rightmove.

The agent is using the pandemic as an excuse for rising costs and delayed repairs. Is there a way to challenge the escalating bill, and can we change our managing agent?

The number of single-income households borrowing four or more times their salary on their mortgage hit a five-year high this year, as buyers grappled with rising house prices.

Laura Shannon and her family were forced to evacuate from their home in Solihull after a freak storm sparked flash floods. causing thousands of pounds worth of damage.

In 2018 to 19 just 3.7 per cent of deaths across Britain triggered an inheritance tax bill, but many a huge chunk lie below a certain line of the country.

This has made banks pile into the mortgage market – considered low-risk lending – which has forced down the interest rates that they charge to generate profits.

A section 5 notice is the landlord’s offer to sell the freehold. This is part of the process of buying the freehold on a flat, and it can be extremely valuable.

The typical tenant has shaved £595 off of their arrears since the start of 2020, with the average debt now sitting at £1,781. This is the lowest amount owed to landlords since the end of 2017.

Halifax has launched the latest offensive in the mortgage price war, and is now offering a home loan with an ultra-low rate of 0.9% – but only for those remortgaging with 40% deposits.

The Financial Conduct Authority will review its data on mortgage prisoners, who are trapped on interest rates up to 9 per cent after taking out loans with firms that collapsed in 2008.

Homeownership is out of reach for an increasing number of people, according to a new report that suggests aspiring homeowners have been set back by the pandemic.

Buyers are paying an average of £230,700 for  a home, which is the highest on record, according to Zoopla’s latest house price index.

Landlords can now take out a mortgage backed by digital-only Starling Bank, after it acquired specialist lender Fleet Mortgages in a £50m cash and share deal.

There are now 19 buyers to every one available property according to estate agent body NAEA Propertymark, as the housing market has boomed during the pandemic.

This is Money quizzes the building society chief on how confident he is about people’s finances post-pandemic, and whether mortgage and savings rates will shift from their current levels soon.

My brother and I inherited the family home from my mum when she died, but we now want to sell it and buy him a new flat closer to where I live. What is the most tax-efficient way to go about it?

It is perfectly legal to buy or sell a home without using an estate agent. While it can mean a big time commitment and administrative headaches, one vendor described the process as ‘enjoyable’.

Self-employed workers in the UK are feeling increasingly pessimistic about their home buying chances after facing a wave of mortgage rejection during the pandemic.

Mortgage advisors are urging borrowers to think twice before using the convenient checkout option from brands such as Klarna after seeing clients rejected after using this type of credit.

While rates below 1% are not unusual for two year deals, Britain’s largest building society is offering this rate to those with a 40% deposit remortgaging or moving, fixed until 2026.

Lucy Stewart and husband James Cissel (pictured) thought they were the perfect buyers after selling their London flat and moving into Lucy’s parents’ house – but quickly found out this was not the case.

Surveyors and conveyancing solicitors have been under huge pressure to complete sales – and experts predict a rise in homeowners making legal claims after they discover mistakes.

Green mortgages are deals with special rates that are only available on properties with high levels of energy efficiency. They incentivise people to buy an efficient home or to refurbish a draughty one.

Latest official statistics show £23,000 house price increase in year to May as Britons went on ‘final buying frenzy’ ahead of stamp duty holiday tapering down in June.

The number of mortgages available to UK borrowers has reached its highest level since March 2020, and the options available to first-time buyers have widened considerably.

My husband and I own a home worth just over £1million. Unfortunately, that same house price inflation means our daughter cannot afford to buy a family home.

After a frantic final leg, a leading estate agent has revealed that exchanges dropped to 40 per cent of the five-year average.

HSBC and TSB have both just unveiled two-year fixed rate deals with a rock-bottom interest rate of 0.94 per cent. And a number of lenders have launched eye-catching deals under one per cent.

My house is proving a good investment, so I am keen to hang on to it and rent it out. Do I need a buy-to-let mortgage, and will I need to pay extra income or capital gains tax?

Younger people, Londoners and higher rate taxpayers were the most likely to have downsizing plans, according to research by Hargreaves Lansdown.

There is a ‘clear excess of demand over supply’ in the housing market, the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors said in its latest closely-watched survey.

Interest rates on equity release have dropped from 6.8% in 2013 to 3.3% today, according to Key, as the market is atoning for its past bad reputation with more flexible plans – but some still regret doing it.

Online agent Strike is expanding across the UK and offers to sell homes with no fees – but vendors must host viewings themselves and pay extra for professional photos.

The pandemic property frenzy has seen buyers stop at nothing to get the keys to their dream home. And with demand and prices rocketing, competition has been fierce.

HSBC announced it would lend up to £5m to buyers on the 0.94 per cent rate which reverts to a 3.54 per cent rate after the two-year fix ends. Borrowers have to have at least 40 per cent a stake in the home.

The HSBC deal is the lowest interest rate on the market – but it is only available to those with 40% deposits or equity and they will need to pay a £999 fee.

Modular housing companies build homes in factories at a rate of two a day – promising sturdy properties and green credentials. We visit one of the factories to find out more.

I want to move, but am locked in to a five-year fixed mortgage deal. How does porting a mortgage work, will there be fees and does it matter that I am now self-employed?

The typical US home added nearly 15% to its value in the past year, a growth described as ‘truly extraordinary’ but which has echoes of the period directly before the 2008 financial crash.

The stamp duty holiday will start to taper down at midnight tomorrow – and many buyers are set to miss the deadline. We explain how to renegotiate the price and keep your transaction on track.

The typical home has seen its biggest rise in value since 2004, according to Nationwide – but the building society warned that homes are less affordable than ever for first-time buyers.

The Government will not heed calls to cut or reform the stamp duty tax on buying a home, despite short-term changes helping to turbo-boost the housing market over the past year.

New research shows some Britons are only viewing a property for 30 minutes before they make an offer. If time is of the essence, here are nine questions to ask the agent to make it count.

Experts are warning that, thanks to this year’s house price rises, more people will now have to pay inheritance tax when they are left a property or other assets by someone who has died.

The new charges – which in some cases are more than double previous fees – will apply from mid-August. Aviva said the fees ‘reflect our reasonable costs for administering your lifetime mortgage’.

Older homeowners are using equity release mortgages to spruce up their homes – and there are more products than ever enabling them to do so, with rates as low as 2.75%.

My partner and I are trying to buy our first home, but thanks to the hot property market we keep missing out. Buying off-plan could help us get on the ladder without being gazumped – but is it a good idea?

Home buyers face a mad dash to complete their purchases or risk paying up to £15,000 extra in stamp duty, as figures show transactions in May were 140% higher than last year.

The stamp duty holiday is drawing to a close, with family finances stretched to the limit and house prices beginning to fall. So should buyers be worried about falling into negative equity?

A new firm that helps parents take out second mortgages to pay their children’s school fees claims it will open up private education to middle income families. But is it a good idea?

Property asking prices rose by just 0.8% in May in an early sign that the housing market boom is slowing down, according to Rightmove’s latest index.

Forget the plant horror of John Wyndham’s The Day Of The Triffids – knotweed is the real thing. It grows up to a foot in a week, strangles other plants, and it can destroy the foundations of your home.

Mortgage rates have continued to hit record lows, as HSBC launched its first sub-1% deal in more than five years today. We explain how to compare rates and fees and get the best deal.

Rishi Sunak is smart, as is George Osborne, so why did Britain’s two best known Chancellors of the past decade go down the route of inflating house prices?

Home buyers are racing to complete their purchases before the stamp duty holiday ends on June 30. We speak to some of the more than 160,000 who are at risk of missing out.

UK house prices dipped in April as buyers lowered their offers in anticipation of the initial stamp duty holiday ending back in March, the ONS House Price Index has revealed.

After the stamp duty holiday was extended, our calculator hows how much tax you would pay to move home before the new 30 June 2021 deadline.

Having bought a home at today’s inflated prices, first-time buyers may be left in negative equity when the market cools down. How much of a problem is that, and what can they do to prevent it?

Houseboats appear to be going through a boom, with some people seeing them as an affordable alternative to the home-buying frenzy. But how much does it really cost to live the riverside dream?

The cost to rent a typical home would be £1,054 a month, against £1,125 a month for mortgage repayments on the same property, according to Hamptons.

My partner and I live in a converted flat and we can hear everything my neighbours do upstairs. What can we do to solve this problem?

Experts are predicting a ‘bottoming out’ of the mortgage market after interest rates hit record lows this week.

Homes in England’s market towns are now worth £36,000 more than other locations, according to Halifax, with buyers paying double for the privilege in the most sought-after.

Rics said that current sales boom is not expected to last once the stamp duty holiday ends, but inflation will continue.

With travel abroad still uncertain, buying a holiday let here in the UK could be a good investment this summer – but if you’re not a cash buyer, getting a mortgage can be complicated.

A new company will advise parents without big cash pots on remortgaging their homes to get their children on the housing ladder. Tembo will boost first-time buyers’ deposits using interest-only mortgages.

Of all the measures taken by the government to keep the UK economy motoring in the pandemic, the tax break for house purchases under £500,000 is the most counter-productive.

More 5 per cent deposit mortgages were launched in May than any other type of home loan, as lenders increasingly look to cater to first-time buyers.

House prices reached another record high in May, according to Halifax, with the average property adding more than £3,000 to its value in the last month alone.

Almost 1.7 million homes in England and Wales with an EPC rating between D and G cannot be improved to reach a C rating, according to new research by Rightmove.

The cost of the average home has jumped by 10.9 per cent to £242,832 in only 12 months, according to Nationwide.

A flurry of fixed-rate loan deals have been launched at less than 1 per cent. This has prompted one expert, Peter Gettins of L&C Mortgages, to describe the market as ‘incredibly competitive’.

Millions struggled to keep on top of household bills and debts when the pandemic forced businesses to shut and pay was slashed.

House prices are soaring and mortgage terms are getting longer – so it is little wonder that fewer borrowers expect to have paid off their mortgage by the time they retire.

First-time buyers in England could get a home for up to 50% less than market value under the Government’s First Homes scheme. We explain how it works and who is likely to benefit.

Virgin Money last week announced its Greener Mortgages for borrowers buying eco-friendly new-build houses, while Nationwide offers cashback to energy-efficient homeowners.

Perhaps you have lockdown savings sitting idle. If so, now could be the perfect time to consider overpaying your mortgage.

UK house price growth hit double figures in the year to March, with the average property worth £24,000 more than it was this time last year at £256,000 according to the ONS.

Typical mortgage rates increased between January and June this year according to Moneyfacts, despite headline-grabbing 0.99% deals coming to the market.

While lenders have offered some of the cheapest deals in history in the past year, fears of inflation on the horizon means rates could soon start to rise.

At the heart of most people’s finances is a mortgage, which is typically the largest outgoing for families every month.

House prices soared by 10.9 per cent annually in May, marking the strongest growth in nearly seven years, according to the Nationwide house price index.

Those who bought using the scheme years ago face paying back more than they initially borrowed on initially interest-free taxpayer loans, due to accelerating house prices.

We speak to Fred Harrison, a British author and economic commentator, who successfully predicted the previous two property crashes years earlier.

Banks are calling on the Government to cut waiting times for the Support for Mortgage Interest scheme, which provides loans to borrowers receiving certain benefits, and open it up to part-time workers.

UK borrowers’ obsession with interest rates could lead to thousands of pounds in unexpected costs. Here’s how to compare fees and rates to make sure you’re getting the cheapest mortgage.

The total spent on properties in England and Wales in the year to March was 8.1 per cent higher than the £254.1billion spent the previous one.

Britons making enquiries about homes in Portugal surged 93% when it went on the green list, we reveal how to get a mortgage, what you might pay and how to avoid pitfalls.

Property transactions in the UK leapt 180% year-on-year in April, according to HMRC – but numbers fell significantly between March and April 2021 as buyers anticipated an end to the stamp duty holiday.

Thousands are unable to find a new home that suits them at a price they can afford. But a growing number are are giving up part of their garden to build a home for a family member.

More first-time buyers are opting for cheap and cheerful alternatives. Marina Popova and Myles Jackson (pictured) bought their boat for £35,000 using savings and a loan.

After boundary disputes between neighbours spiked during lockdown, a new service aims to offer an alternative to court battles than can cost up to a quarter of a million pounds.

Nationwide Building Society has launched a 5% deposit mortgage with a market-leading interest rate of 3.49%, as the range of options for first-time buyers continues to improve.

Estate agents are lapping up strong sales and spiked buyer interest at present, but are still seeing listings stay woefully low, the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors said.

House prices have refused to succumb to the carnage wreaked on the UK economy by coronavirus and lockdown. We look at why and what may happen next.

The average asking price jumped by over £5,700, or 1.8 per cent, to a new ‘all-time high’ of £333,564 in a single month as buyers rushed to snap up homes with more space, according to Rightmove.

My neighbour’s tree is blocking the sunlight in my garden, but he is refusing to do anything because he says it acts as a privacy screen from other properties. Can I cut it down myself?

Homebuyers hoping to complete ahead of the next stamp duty deadline may find they are unable to do so in time due to conveyancing delays.

An off-market sale is one where the property is not marketed publicly – with the sale arranged by a buying agent and clients looking to purchase without participating in a bidding frenzy.

Last year’s famine has turned into a relative feast, with more than 100 high loan-to-value mortgages now available – and more being launched every week.

A significant number of homeowners could be overpaying for home insurance because they have bought a policy from their mortgage provider instead of shopping around.

Currently, 43% of homeowners are worried about making their monthly mortgage payments. We explain what to do if your income drops, and how to remortgage with defaults on your record.

We just received the homebuyer report on our new period home, which raised concerns about an old loft conversion and extension. How can we ensure it’s safe and what survey do we need?

From sports betting to streaming subscriptions, we asked mortgage experts about spending habits that could raise mortgage lenders’ eyebrows – and how much of a risk they pose.

If you’re struggling to work at your kitchen table – and you have the luxury of a garden – it could be time to invest in a ‘shoffice’. Here’s everything you need to know about building a garden workspace.

Most Britons don’t know the size of their home in square feet, according to a new survey. But given that buyers now prize space above all else, has this become vital information?

A third of UK home renovators plan to fund their project with a remortgage, according to a new survey. But how do you go about getting equity out of your home? We explain how it works.

This couple shared their home with three lodgers to help pay the mortgage. But now they want to sell, they could be landed with a capital gains tax bill. We asked three tax experts to explain the rules

The last thing you want is to discover your beautiful new home is concealing nightmares behind every nook and cranny. But what type of survey should you choose? We explain the difference between them.

Interest-only mortgages have become something of a taboo ever since the 2008 crash. But could they be a short-term fix for homeowners hit financially by Covid, or is taking one out too much of a risk?

Britons are at risk of paying over the odds on their house purchases, with 30 per cent of homeowners failing to negotiate on their current property. We explain how to do it successfully

Housebound UK homeowners are on a quest to perfect their homes, as Britons spent hundreds more on renovations in 2020.

Getting on the property ladder is an aspiration shared by millions of people across the UK, but prices increased 6.4 per cent in the last year according to Nationwide.

Property listings on the online portals often carry the bullet point, ‘potential to extend subject to planning permission (STPP)’. And estate agents love to talk about ‘potential’.

A total of 306,198 property transactions fell through last year, representing a 12.26 per cent rise from 2019. We asked the experts what to do if your deal is in danger of being derailed.

With thousands of homes at your fingertips, searching on Rightmove of Zoopla can feel like looking for a needle in a haystack. We reveal little-known tech tricks to help you beat the competition.

Britain’s most commonly asked mortgage questions have been revealed following analysis by Comparethemarket.com. We went to three mortgage experts to find the answers.

Research by online broker Habito found that 27% of people were on a standard variable rate – lenders’ ‘default’ rate which buyers drop on to when the initial term of their mortgage deal ends.

The fees vary a bit, can we negotiate on them and what is the best way to do this? Is there a way to incentivise the agent to get us the best price?