Mortgage approvals begin to rise slightly

The number of new mortgages approved for home buyers increased slightly during December, according to the Bank of England.

There were 41,000 mortgage approvals, up from 37,000 in November, but still the second lowest figure on record. Read more

Buy-to-let market remains resilient

Buy-to-let investors have shrugged off a slide in the value of rented houses with almost half of existing investors planning further purchases in the market.

Nine out of 10 landlords have no intention of selling their properties, according to the fourth-quarter survey of the Association of Residential Letting Agents. Four out of 10 expect to invest further in the private rented sector this year. Read more

Tax Man to clamp Buy to Let Mortgage Investors

With the United Kingdom facing the most substantial budget deficit in the coming year than any other nation in Western Europe, HM Revenue and Customs has announced plans to extract additional taxes from approximately 80,000 landlords who may not have paid enough in taxes over the course of the past six years on their buy to let mortgage investments. Read more

Homeowners face mortgage shock

Hundreds of thousands of UK homeowners could pay more for their mortgages during 2008 even though the Bank of England is expected to cut interest rates to at least 5.50%.

Around 1.4m will come to the end of cheap fixed rates over the next 12 months. While failing rates for new mortgage borrowers, analysts warn many will see a leap in repayments as the credit crunch fallout continues. Read more

Will second homes derail property prices?

Nearly one in four second-homeowners could sell up in the current financial downturn, prompting even more dramatic house-price falls, according to new report.

Until now many financial commentators had thought but-to-let could be the weak point that topples the market, but the research from consultancy Capital Economics suggests the second home market is where the danger may indeed lie. Read more