Brian Murphy, Head of Lending at Mortgage Advice Bureau (MAB) announced 2015 a successful year for borrowers as the number of mortgage approvals grew to nearly reach a two-year high in December. He said: “Existing homeowners were the frontrunners in this... View Article

Courts in England and Wales will be required to follow comprehensive sentencing guidelines when prosecuting companies and public bodies in breach of health and safety legislation from 1st February 2016. Neal Stone, Policy and Standards Director at the British Safety... View Article

The ONS reported the UK gross domestic product has risen by 0.5 per cent. Within this, construction output was marginally weaker, by 0.1 per cent, its second consecutive quarterly fall following the third quarter’s 1.9 per cent decline. Professor Noble Francis, Economics Director at... View Article

The London Land Commission revealed there are 40,000 publicly owned sites that could deliver a minimum of 130,000 new homes. Charlie Hustler, land director at Essential Living, a developer and operator of homes for long-term rent, outlined a number of issues... View Article

Following an analysis of the market, Private Finance believes that buy to let remains an attractive investment in the immediate future. However, the broker has also warned that accessing finance will now be the biggest challenge for amateur landlords in... View Article

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has announced it will sell off a dozen of its sites to raise £500 million and provide land for 15,000 homes. Defence minister Mark Lancaster said the money from the sale will be ploughed back... View Article

The Council of Mortgage Lenders estimated that gross mortgage lending reached £19.9 billion in December 2015. This is 3 per cent lower than November (£20.5 billion), but 23 per cent higher than December 2014 (£16.2 billion). The estimated total for the year is thus £220.3... View Article

Mortgage Advice Bureau commented on the RICS Residential Market Survey, CML Mortgage Lending Figures and HMRC Property Transactions (December 2015). Brian Murphy, Head of Lending at Mortgage Advice Bureau (MAB), comments: “There was a rush of buyers hitting the property market... View Article

The governor of the Bank of England has booted an interest rate rise into the long grass and beyond and this will further drive demand for mortgages throughout 2016, affirms the boss of Devere Mortgages. The comments come as Mark... View Article

Brian Murphy, Head of Lending at Mortgage Advice Bureau, commented on the increase in UK house prices as reported by the ONS. “House prices in November saw the biggest annual increase in eight months, despite traditionally being a quieter time in the housing... View Article

Commenting on the Prime Minister’s plans to invest in developing deprived housing estates, Joanne Drew, Director of Housing at Nacro, said: “We welcome the Prime Minister’s announcement to invest in developing deprived housing estates. Nacro led national thinking on ‘secured... View Article

Charging Council Tax on unbuilt developments could decrease house building numbers by deterring SME house builders, warns the Federation of Master Builders (FMB) in response to proposals made by the Local Government Association today. Brian Berry, Chief Executive of the... View Article