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...The average asking prices for properties of up to two bedrooms, which Rightmove classifies as being for first-time buyers, was almost flat month on month at 0.3 per cent....
...Mortgage brokers have welcomed an “innovative” home loan aimed at first-time buyers, which requires a deposit of just £5,000 for homes worth up to £500,000....
...Northern Ireland was the best-performing region, with house prices rising by an annual rate of 4.6 per cent in the first three months of 2024, according to Nationwide....
...Their supporters say they provide borrowers with certainty and help them pass mandatory affordability tests, particularly those buying their first home....
...UK house prices rose more than expected in February, posting their first annual increase in more than a year according to lender Nationwide, adding to evidence of a market recovery as mortgage rates eased...
...UK house prices fell for the first time in six months in March, according to the lender Halifax, surprising economists and adding to signs of inconsistency in the property market recovery....
...From BofA: Mortgage rates have eased — now hovering just around 7% — and we expect the first Fed cut . . . in June....
...Neal Hudson, housing market analyst at Residential Analysts, said: “There would be a greater risk of negative equity obviously with this, you’d also be paying a premium mortgage rate, and it doesn’t necessarily...
...“Sellers are having to continue to rein in their price expectations,” says Lucian Cook, head of UK residential research at estate agent Savills....
...The first signs of borrowers responding are likely to show up in mortgage approvals....
...Evidence that a recovery is under way in the UK housing market has been bolstered by data suggesting the number of agreed sales jumped in the first two months of the year....
...And that’s naturally where high mortgage rates are going to hit hardest.”...
...Figures from Halifax last Friday showed house prices declining for the first time in six months, contrary to expectations....
...The sharp rise in mortgage costs as the Bank of England raised interest rates to tame inflation put the brakes on the property market, and imposed a particular strain on affordability for first-time buyers...
...Most analysts predict the central bank will make its first rate cut in either June or July....
...Separate BoE data last week showed that real interest rates on new mortgages fell for the first time since 2021 in December, helping lift mortgage approvals to a six-month high....
...Labour, which has a strong polling lead over the Tories, has pledged to boost housebuilding and introduce a new mortgage guarantee scheme for first-time buyers if it wins power....
...On Tuesday BoE data showed that the average rate for new mortgages fell in December for the first time since November 2021 and that mortgage approvals rose to a six-month high....
...A scheme to back 99 per cent mortgages for first-time buyers was under consideration but is now unlikely to make it, according to officials....
...UK estate agents have registered the first rise in housebuyer demand and sales in almost two years, according to a leading survey that highlights the impact of the falling cost of mortgages....
...potential sellers balked at trading in their low-rate mortgages for ones with higher rates, while prices moved out of reach for many first-time buyers....
...European house prices fell for the first time in a decade last year, as strong growth in the property markets of some eastern and southern countries was masked by declines in many northern EU states....
...The lender calculated a typical first-time buyer on average UK income would have to pay 38 per cent of their monthly take-home pay in mortgage costs, above the long-term average of 30 per cent....
...Sellers of UK residential property are expected to rein in lofty price expectations this year as buyers remain cautious despite falling mortgage rates, according to agents and housing market experts....
...Its gain-on-sale margin — which measures how much is earned when mortgages are sold — came in at 2.6 per cent in the first nine months of 2023, compared with 4.5 per cent in 2020....
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