London property market crashes

London house prices crashed by an average 14.5 per cent in the last 12 months the fall accelerated through “a year of turmoil” with a drop of 2.4 per cent last month alone.

The worst hit areas were City of Westminister which plunged 21 per cent. The borough of Waltham Forest 17 per cent. Other borough breakdown reveals how even the current depressed values are far higher than levels at the start of the economic boom times nearly a decade ago. Read more

Banks fail to pass on interest rate cuts

Further cuts to UK interest rates will not guarantee cheaper mortgages, brokers have warned. Last month a number of lenders cut their standard variable rates (SVRs), including Abbey, Coventry Building Society and Standard Life. But only one of them Standard Life mirrored the most recent half per cent base rate reduction.

Since UK interest rates were cut to 4.5 per cent in late September, half of all mortgage lenders have resisted passing on any of the reduction in their variable rates. Read more