House Price Spy Blog

The total number of approved mortgages have fallen by a third on the same time last year to just over 43,000. The drop in demand for the housing market coupled with stringent rules on how much and under what circumstances mortgages can be given has seen less people take the plunge compared with February 2007.

However the number of re-mortgages increased by 5.5% from last year with over 72,0000 customers re-mortgage for better deals on their mortgage.

The numbers come from the BBA The British Banking and Financial Services Association.

Buy-to-let Mortgages seem to have taken a downturn due to the rise in property value of the last 10 years. With property on average cost double or 50+ what it was in 1997 the profits of buying to let have dropped and less investers are taking up this option.

With the recent policy changes at most lenders Buy-to-let Mortgages which were once given to as much as 90% of the property value is now a lot less and are seen as a less viable option.

The golden rule for buy-to-let mortgages is to buy such that you can charge at least 20% more on rent than your repayments are. The most important thing to bear in mind is buying in an area where you know is renting well and go as far as visiting a few properties for rent and checking out what they offer in terms of rooms, furnishings, local area etc Dont pay above what you would pay as a first property, just because someone will be paying your mortgage!

While average rent rose by 13% in England and Wales, the downturn in property prices has seen a check on new buy-to-letters. The Government policy on mortgages has seen the mortgage rate held for the past few months in an effort to keeping the housing market from falling…

There are still significant pockets of bargain Buy-to-let propeties available which are sure fire capital gains winners! Only your knowledge of your local area and property in general can get your money working.

Gordon Brown and Alistair Darling anounced their plans for the Budget 2008 with some interesting items relating to property:

Inheritance Tax - The allowance will be increased after the Budget 2008 to £324,000 per person.

Capital Gains Tax - The capital gains tax (CGT) annual exempt amount will be £9600, with a charge of 18% above that figure.

Stamp Duty - Duty will remain the same for the next year after Budget 2008. This will be good for the property market which has been fragile in the last quarter.

Get the full details with other details from the official DirectGov websiteBudget 2008!!!

The Bank Of England have left the mortgage rate unchanged for March 2008. The rate, as expected, was held at 5.25% with the announcement coming on the 6th.

After last months drop of 0.25% there was no change predicted for March and that is the way it has turned out with the government not wanting to affect the fragile house price market in the build up to the busy summer period.

Visit the official Bank Of England website to get all the latest news and details on this and future rulings.