Mark Williams's Blog (104)

Average rates across two- and five-year fixed products have crept up, and borrowers on their lender’s Standard Variable Rate should be wary of future rises and look to fix sooner rather than later.

The warning comes after a number of lenders announced hikes to SVR (Standard Variable Rate )rates which come into force on May 1. Analysis has found that the average rate for…

An 11-year-old boy has been highly commended for his imaginative entry to a competition to find a credible plan for a euro exit.

Jurre Hermans was among 452 candidates who submitted entries to win the £250,000 Wolfson Economics Prize. Although his idea was not among the five shortlisted, Jurre received special mention from the judging panel and will receive an €100 gift voucher, the Telegraph…

Borrowers on standard variable rate interest-only mortgages need to think about remortgaging fast as nine lenders have now cut their maximum loan to value.

Anyone with an interest-only mortgage that is currently on a lenders’ own variable rate (Standard Variable Rate) needs to think very seriously about protecting their position following the recent sudden surge in lenders reducing the Loan to Value on…

An astonishing poll of estate agents claims that 40% believe that property on their books is over-priced.

The claim has emerged in a poll of over 200 agents conducted by review site MeetMyAgent.

The poll was conducted between March 20 and 24 and claims to show that 38% of agents believe that more than 30% of their stock is over-priced.…

Comparison sites are failing to provide consumers with the best deal and should be strictly regulated, Which? has said.

The Financial Services Authority warned comparison sites they must hold the correct permissions for their activities in June last year.

A Which? investigation has now established that most of the 11 most popular sites were using pre-selected…

Interest-only mortgages have taken another step towards extinction with Nationwide and now Coventry Building Society demanding that new borrowers have 50pc equity in their home if they want to avoid making capital repayments.

Both, which previously lent on an interest-only basis to borrowers with 25pc equity or deposit, sited the need to "manage application levels" following similar moves from competitors. The…

The Chancellor George Osborne will today raise Stamp Duty on the country's highest priced properties as part of a tax raid on the wealthy.

The top-end property market is booming at present, with a huge surge in the amount of homes sold so far this year compared to 2011.

New figures have revealed sales of homes valued at £5m or more in London have jumped by 98% this year,…

Just under half of borrowers, 49%, have not reviewed their mortgage since base was cut to 0.5% three years ago, according to recent research.

Despite base rate being a record-low since March 2009, 42% of fixed rate borrowers are still paying a rate of 5% or higher, with the average rate for fixed rate borrowers being 4.63%.

The average rate paid by tracker mortgage…

The government has formally launched NewBuy, its mortgage indemnity scheme that will offer borrowers 95% loan to value mortgages with taxpayers and builders as co-guarantors.

The scheme is only available on newly-built flats and houses up to a maximum value of £500,000 in England only.

Properties must also not be linked with any other scheme such as shared equity or shared…

Women across the generations are significantly undervaluing the level of protection that they need compared to men, taking out "worryingly low levels" of life cover to protect their families, one life provider has warned.

Its figures showed that men typically protect themselves with around 50% more life cover than women, with the gender gap becoming significantly wider the older people…

Nearly 850,000 customers will see their mortgage rate rise from 3.5% to 3.99% on 1 May 2012 when Halifax hikes its Standard Variable Rate.

This is now the second rate rise announcement by Halifax inside the last seven days as in addition, it has already been reported that thousands of other Halifax mortgage customers would also see their mortgage payments rise as well as it also said that it is raising the cap…

Recent data released by one of the biggest insurance providers in the UK has revealed the rather alarming statistic that half the life insurance claims received were made for those under 55 years old.

It noted that the average age of claimant was 56 and that it paid out almost £42m in benefits to bereaved families.

This data serves as a timely reminder for adults of all…

Hundreds of thousands of customers could see their mortgage payments rise after Britain’s biggest mortgage lender said that it is raising the cap on its Standard Variable Rate (SVR) – the first step towards a rate rise.

Halifax, part of Lloyds Banking Group, has written to forty thousand customers indicating that it is raising the cap on its SVR to 3.75pc above Bank of England Base Rate or 4.25pc. These forty…

We are all familiar by now with the pension time bomb; it has been rearing its ugly head in the news for years.

However, we are less familiar with another time bomb that has also been ticking away over the past 20 years or so and which is now going off in people's faces up and down the land.

I am talking about the waves of interest-only mortgages taken out in the late…

The end of the stamp duty holiday for first-time buyers on 24 March will have little impact on the housing market compared to the availability of 95% loan to value deals.

The increased availability of 95% deals, which hit a four-year high, is likely to have a far more positive effect on the housing market.

Recent data in fact shows the concession has done little to…

Parents are risking the financial security of their families should they become seriously ill by not thinking about critical illness (CI) protection.

Of the small percentage of those who have purchased insurance, a significant number did not know if it included cover for their children.

It is a sad fact , but children's illness are the fourth highest claim reason on…

Interest-only mortgages are set to disappear as a major high street bank restricts access to home owners.

Santander has become the first major high street bank to insist that home owners need a 50pc deposit – or 50pc equity in their home – if they want an interest-only mortgage.

This move not only affects those buying a property, but will also hit existing borrowers who…

Tough new rules to ban unsustainable mortgages and prevent another housing bubble are to be handed to the Bank of England, the Chancellor signalled last night.

George Osborne told MPs the Bank of England was set to win powers to vary what mortgages customers can buy to prevent overheating in the housing market.

A new Financial Policy Committee at the Bank would be able…

People living in the UK would still rather insure their pets than themselves or their loved ones.

Although parents are more likely to buy protection, almost two-thirds (60%) do not have any cover in place.

The research found that less than one in ten (9%) people have bought critical illness (CI) protection, while 12% have pet insurance.…