First-time buyers

Countrywide wants decisive government action on housing market

Countrywide has suggested six solutions for the government to help the housing market. In its...

End of Stamp Duty slump?

The slump in activity that followed the end of the first-time buyer stamp duty...

Over 600 NewBuy reservations so far

The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has revealed that the recently-launched NewBuy scheme has...

Encouraging signs from wannabe first-time buyers

The proportion of intending home-buyers over the next 12 months who will be purchasing...

First-time buyer transaction levels recover

There was a 28% increase in the number of first-time buyer transactions in May...

Cost of renting continues to rise

Property website Zoopla.co.uk has claimed that the cost of home ownership is cheaper than...

Affordable schemes analysed by Halifax

Halifax has looked at the typical profile of someone buying a home under 'affordable'...

Landlords aren’t to blame for high rental demand

Bob Young, managing director of CHL Mortgages When the housing market was at its...

Lifetime saving from home ownership calculated

Owning your home rather than renting it will save you £194,000 over a 50-year...

Approvals down due to Eurozone crisis

1 Eurozone pressures forced banks to scale back their lending and reduce the number of...

April sees major drop-off in FTBs

April saw a fall in house purchase lending, in particular to first-time buyers, according...

Renters struggling to save to buy a home

Saving to buy a home while renting is looking like a less reliable route...

L&G Mortgage Club grows Progressive partnership

Legal & General Mortgage Club has extended its existing partnership with Progressive Building Society...

May mortgage market sees return to growth

The latest Housing Market Activity Report by Connells Survey & Valuation has reported return...

COMMENT

Beyond the Robo-Adviser: why the future of mortgages is ‘Human Plus’

The fintech industry is obsessing over a binary choice: the traditional human broker or the fully automated 'robo-adviser'. But as we navigate the complexities...

Ceasefire boosts sentiment more than mortgage market

What goes up must come down, but for mortgage rates the drop will be notably more gradual than the sharp increase triggered by the...

A surge today, but what comes next for advisers and conveyancing?

March has provided a very clear example of how quickly this market can move when lenders feel the need to take action, with widespread...

Technology adapts so you don’t have to

20 years ago, many brokerages looked and operated in very similar ways. Typically small, local business, many firms focused solely on standard residential mortgage...

Rental barometer shows strength, but March changes the tone

Looking at our recently published Q1 2026 Rental Barometer data in isolation, there is clearly a strong and positive story to tell. Average rental...

Latest news

Conveyancing fees tick up in Q1 but remain flat over past 12 months

The cost of conveyancing services rose modestly in the first quarter of 2026, although...

Bath BS introduces valuation engine to speed up mortgage decisions

Bath Building Society has launched a new property decisioning engine aimed at cutting delays...

LSL to stage first protection-only conference for advisers

LSL Financial Services is to hold its first conference dedicated solely to protection, in...

Afin Bank brings in title insurance to speed up mortgage completions

Afin Bank has partnered with Westcor International to introduce Perfect Title Insurance across its...

PROFILES