Olympics send house prices soaring...

Since July 2005, when London was awarded the right to host the 2012 Olympics, the average value of houses in the 13 postal districts closest to Olympic park in Stratford, east London, has increased by more than £62,739 to £268,884.

The study that was carried out by Lloyds TSB shows that house prices have risen by 30%, which is the same as a monthly rise of £815.

Over the same period of time, house prices have increased by 25% across England and Wales.

House prices in the borough of Hackney, have increased the most, with Dalston and Homerton showing the highest rises, with a rise of 55% to an average of £359,436 and £332,102 respectively. 

In Stratford itself, the average house price has grown by 13% to £227,893. ....


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People receiving housing benefit living in luxury...

Figures released recently have revealed that at least one hundred families who are receiving housing benefit are living on handouts that could fund £1m mortgages and are supporting them in living in luxury homes. Over thirty families are being given a whopping £1,500 a week to live on (over three times the national average wage) meaning that they get to live 'swanky' lifestyles. According to the Department for Work and Pensions, a further 60 families have their rent paid by the state to the value of £5,000 a month. Need conveyancing? Visit us at www.helpfulconveyancing.co.uk

Increase In site traffic at Rightmove...

Despite the housing market having been lying somewhat dormant, Rightmove have enjoyed a number of record viewing days, one right after the other. Rightmove said this week that ‘traffic’ was up more than 20% at the beginning of 2012 as house-hunters logged on to see the 1.1m homes advertised on rightmove.co.uk. The website was the seventh most-used in the UK in January – behind Facebook, Google, eBay, YouTube, Amazon and Yahoo. Need conveyancing? Visit us! Www.helpfulconveyancing.co.uk

"Clampdown on interest-only mortgages traps borrowers"

"The UK's major high street lenders have made it almost impossible for thousands of homeowners on interest-only mortgages to move home. The new, stricter rules on lending criteria, also mean very few new borrowers will qualify for an interest-only product. Lloyds Banking Group will no longer accept cash savings, including Isas, as an acceptable way to fund the repayment of an interest-only mortgage. Instead, Lloyds – which includes Lloyds TSB, Bank of Scotland, Halifax and Cheltenham & Gloucester – views investment products such as endowments and equity Isas as better longer term vehicles with which to settle an interest-only mortgage." Need conveyancing? Visit us! Www.helpfulconveyancing.co.uk Posted by Simon Bayliss. at Tuesday, February 21, 2012 at Oxfordhomesdirect.blogspot.com

Annual increase on mortgage lending is up 10%...

Although mortgage lending had fallen by 14.4% in January 2012 it was 10% higher than in January 2011. This was partially due to the government's stamp duty holiday on properties worth up to £250,000 meaning that first-time buyers were rushing to finalise house purchases before it came into play. According to the Council of Mortgage Lenders, gross lending of £10.5billion has marked the sixth month of year-on-year rises. It said the deadline on 24 March for the end of the stamp duty-free period had boosted activity, while the month-on-month drop was due to an "expected" seasonal decline. However, that seasonal decline was more marked than 12 months ago – the fall in lending from December 2010 to January 2011 was 10.15% compared to this year's 14.4% drop. Need conveyancing? Visit www.helpfulconveyancing.co.uk

Thierry revamps his £6m home to accommodate his 300 fish with a four-storey 5,000 gallon fish tank

Thierry Henry has recently started renovations on his £6million luxury home in order to accommodate his 300 fish by installing a fish tank that will stretch from the very top of his house to the bottom. The tank will require 5,500 gallons of water to fill and has set the Footballer back £250,000 to build. The former Arsenal striker's home has been hailed as one of the finest examples of modern architecture, only being recently finished in 1999, however he has submitted controversial plans to rip down his North London House and replace it with a newer, bigger and better house- to include new mega aquarium. Moving home? Need conveyancing? Visit us!! Www.helpfulconveyancing.co.uk

Mortgage applications jeopardised due to O2 debt yet again....

Guardian Money reported a case in February 2011 in which Adam Vaughan's chances of getting a mortgage of £220,000 was jeopardised due to a missed payment of only £7.91 for a mobile phone bill. One year on and this time it is a missed payment of £57, yet again on a mobile phone bill that is standing between Conal Duffy and his dream home. The common theme in both cases is O2 mobile phone company black marking these people who otherwise have clean credit record. These cases have provided more evidence which links trivial hiccups with mobile phone contracts to people failing to obtain mortgages, loans and credit cards. Far too often, people are then being turned down by banks for not meeting their rigid credit-scoring criteria. Need conveyancing? Visit us at www.helpfulconveyancing.co.uk for your free quote today!