House Price Spy Blog

According to the National Housing Federation (NHF) UK house prices are set to increase by 40% over the next 5 years to an average of around £300,000. They also confirmed that the average home is 11 times annual earnings of the average person.

The most interesting part of the report stated that house prices have risen by over 150% while average earnings have risen by only 35% which leaves many with a huge leap to get on the property ladder.

This will make depressing reading for many on the lower end of the earning spectrum and will need to be addressed by Gordon Brown and Alistair Darling in years to come. Affordable housing was one of the main pledges of Gordon Brown’s leadership.

Offset mortgages are gaining in popularity, but what are they? Who are they perfect for and What do they do?

Offset mortgages were first introduced in the 90s from Australia and allowed borrowers to use any money they had in current accounts to reduce their total payment. Any money you have in your current or savings account can be offset against your borrowings reducing your payments and allowing you an extra degree of flexibility in making larger or smaller payments depending on your circumstances.

They are not however perfect for everyone as they may have higher rates and rely on you having money in your current account.

Offset mortgages have become really competitive with the rise in borrowing rates and are now offered by most mortgage lenders. There has been a 49% increase in these types of mortgage in the last year according to lenders.

House Price Spy is one year old!!! It seems like only yesterday that our team had the idea of giving FREE property sale details with stats and information to everyone without restrictions on number of searches.

The House Price Spy team has certainly learned a lot since the site went live about property, property finance and moving/selling and buying. Having just moved home myself all this came in really useful and the House Price Spy system worked a treat. Its hard to imagine entering the property market without knowing the final sale price of each property!!

We intend to completely overhaul the way the site looks and add in more functions for members without interrupting or altering the quality of the service we provide!!! Just a general make over and add in a few cool search facilities and tools to make House Price Spy even better!!

The mortgage interest rate is due for review on the 6th of September 2007 but what will the Bank Of England do?

The Bank Of England have shown that they are taking a pragmatic stance to reduce inflation and curb borrowing under these circumstances and more increases in the base rate are expected next month. Only time will tell, but this could be depressing news for homeowners especially first time buyers.

Get the details hot off the press from the Bank Of England.

Only time will tell, House Price Spy will keep you fully updated on any changes!