Prime London prices fall 7% as buyers hold back

Prime London house prices fell by 7% year-on-year in August as uncertainty over borrowing costs contributed to a sharp slowdown in sales activity, according to LonRes. The property analyst said the number of transactions across prime London was 19%...

Latest news

AI adoption raises stakes for trusted financial data

Financial services firms will need to balance greater use of AI with stronger human engagement and more reliable data as consumers increasingly turn to...

Saffron targets faster mortgage decisions with FintechOS platform

Saffron Building Society has partnered with FintechOS to overhaul its mortgage origination process as it looks to deliver faster decisions for brokers and increase...

Leasehold valuation reform: the consultation is asking only half the question

The Government's consultation on leasehold enfranchisement valuation rates is important because it will help determine what leaseholders pay to extend leases or buy freeholds,...

UK rate hike risk grows after Fed raises rates

The prospect of UK interest rates rising again is moving back onto the agenda after the US Federal Reserve increased rates for the first...

Novus launches mortgage simulator to tackle completion delays

Novus Strategy has launched a mortgage journey simulator designed to allow lenders to test changes to their processes before committing investment. Pathfinder enables lenders to create a digital version of their existing mortgage journey and simulate the impact of...

L&G Mortgage Club adds estate agency referral service

L&G Mortgage Club has partnered with GOTO Estate Agency to launch a referral service enabling brokers to recommend estate agents to clients and earn commission on completed property sales. The service is designed to keep advisers involved beyond arranging...

Family BS relaunches fixed rates with 0.60% increase

Family Building Society has reintroduced its fixed-rate mortgage range with rates increased by 0.60 percentage points following recent swap rate volatility. The lender temporarily withdrew its fixed-rate products on 4 September and has now relaunched the range across both...

Mortgage rates face further pressure as inflation rises to 3.1%

Mortgage rates could face further upward pressure after UK inflation climbed back above 3% in August. The Consumer Prices Index rose by 3.1% in the 12 months to August, up from 2.9% in July, according to the Office for...

PROFILE

Darrell Walker on LendInvest’s next chapter

After 35 years in banking and mortgages, the former football hopeful thought he might have found the company where he would see out his...

INDUSTRY COMMENT

What commonhold will mean for mortgage lenders and brokers

Commonhold is often presented as the straightforward alternative to leasehold. It removes the freeholder, gives flat owners greater control and avoids some familiar problems...

All eyes on Thursday’s rate decision

We've seen a number of lenders increase their rates over the past week, and with the Bank of England's next decision landing on 17...

Why you need to know what sits behind the average review score

There’s a funny thing about review scores. The better they are, the less likely we are to question them. If a company is sitting at...

Q&As

BUY-TO-LET

Saffron says brokers should look beyond labels on complex mortgage cases

Borrowers with non-standard incomes, unusual properties or international circumstances should not automatically be treated...

Foundation opens financial services careers to young people with talent programme

Foundation has completed its first Future Talent Programme, giving 18 young people workplace experience...

Rely uses AVM to deliver immediate offer on landlord remortgage

Rely has issued an instant mortgage offer for a landlord remortgaging a single buy-to-let...

HSBC to raise residential and buy-to-let mortgage rates

HSBC UK is increasing mortgage rates across much of its residential and buy-to-let range...

Landlords increasingly favour local markets for property investment

Professional landlords are increasingly concentrating investment in their home regions as local market knowledge...

Rents set to rise by up to 5% as supply falls

UK rental growth is accelerating again as higher mortgage rates keep would-be first-time buyers...

Buy-to-let company formations fall as landlord incorporation boom slows

The number of new buy-to-let companies being established has fallen this year as the...

FIRST-TIME BUYERS

Gen H appoints Laz Doel to new key account role

Gen H has appointed Laz Doel as key account manager in a newly created position aimed at developing the lender's relationships with key broker firms. Doel (pictured) will report to Paddy Doyle, corporate account lead at Gen H, as the lender looks to strengthen its...

Four-month fall in sales agreed signals weaker mortgage market

Mortgage lenders face a potentially weaker final quarter after property sales agreed fell by...

High-income-multiple lending to first-time buyers jumps 66%

The number of first-time buyer mortgages advanced at 4.5 times income or more rose...

Berkeley calls for stamp duty overhaul to kick-start housing market

Berkeley Group has called on the Government to slash stamp duty for first-time buyers...

Property industry moves to speed up mortgage transactions

Lenders, conveyancers and estate agents are testing new ways of sharing property information earlier...

OPINION

The new Chancellor wants to remove barriers to growth; he should start with housing

There was probably a degree of unintended irony in the Treasury choosing to call the Chancellor, John Healey’s, first major market ‘intervention’ his ‘Growth...

Brokers are losing the attention battle 1,000 to 3

Take a client you placed on a 5-year fix last year. Over the life...

Triple lock or no triple lock? That is not the question

The debate over the State Pension triple lock has returned. But perhaps the more...

Your clients have already asked AI

The FCA published research on 27 August showing that 56% of 18- to 40-year-olds who hold or are considering investments say they trust AI tools, ahead of television, the press and social media influencers, the last of those on 29%. Four in five of the...

The technology that matters doesn’t make the decision

We have a tendency when talking about mortgage technology to start with what it can automate. How many documents can it process, how quickly can...

DISTRIBUTION

Walsham Brothers expands adviser reach with Paradigm Protect panel deal

Walsham Brothers has added Paradigm Protect to its growing list of distribution partners as...

LSL mortgage revenue rises 8% as remortgage demand grows

LSL Property Services has reported an 8% increase in mortgage revenue during the first...

Nationwide names Richard Walker to lead intermediary sales and new-build business

Nationwide has appointed Richard Walker as head of intermediary sales and new build, bringing...

Shepherds Friendly joins The Right DA Club protection panel

The Right DA Club has added Shepherds Friendly to its protection panel, giving member...

Mortgage’s Got Talent launches for 2026

Mortgageforce is bringing the mortgage industry together this November for Mortgage's Got Talent – a new charity gala combining live entertainment, networking and fundraising for a number of causes close to the sector's heart. Taking place at Piazza Italiana on Wednesday 25 November, the event...