Search Results for: Mortgages
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Latest property news
Leaders’ National Mortgage Service and Academy
Leaders has launched a new range of mortgage services designed to help customers access the best deals and rates, as well as an in-house academy to train the next generation of mortgage experts.
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Latest property news
Will every agent eventually have to list on all three portals?
As Yorkshire market leading agency Manning Stainton decides to be on Rightmove, OnTheMarrket and now ZPG, many agents now feel under pressure to follow suit.
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Latest property news
Countrywide reveals new digital venture with Dynamo online mortgage broker
Countrywide has revealed its latest investment in online tech following today’s launch of Dynamo, a re-mortgaging service offering products direct to the public from NatWest, Virgin Money, HSBC, Barclays, Leeds Building Society, Nationwide and Santander. At launch the website offers only a re-mortgage service and has half a dozen brokers working for it, although with Countrywide’s backing Dynamo says it has big plans to expand quickly and will move into first time buyer and mover mortgages later this year. This is likely to be achievable – Countrywide is to supply leads to Dynamo from its customer database by contacting them as their mortgages come out of fixed-rate deals, for example. But Dynamo will do its owner marketing to acquire customers elsewhere, too. Countrywide is an equal partner in the business alongside Blenheim Chalcot, which has a successful track record investing in tech start-ups including ClearScore. A Countrywide executive, its MD of Financial Services Peter Curran, sits on the Dynamo board. Back to basics? This digital play by Countrywide sits slightly oddly alongside the company’s recent promise to ‘go back to basics’ but will help sure-up its ancillary income stream, which recently dwindled from 50p to 38p for every £1 generated…
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Latest property news
Agents: join in with home mover chat!
Property professionals are invited to participate in online home mover conversations, as reallymoving.com acquires homemove.co.uk and adds forum facility.
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Latest property news
Rent Recognition Challenge reaches round two
The six companies who have made it through to the second round of HM Treasury’s Rent Recognition Challenge are announced.
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Latest property news
Strong home mover demand pushes up average asking price by 1.5%
Newly marketed properties in the UK have risen by an average of £4,503 says Rightmove, with prices highest in the first timer and second stepper sectors.
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Latest property news
Countrywide to refashion hybrid offering and beef up lettings
Countrywide’s plan to turn its business around has been revealed, including the company’s intention to relaunch its hybrid online offering. As part of its ‘back to basics’ plan, the company also says it intends to begin recruiting again at a local level and wants to revive its lettings business. “We are focused on restoring lettings capability back at regional, area and branch level and in our customer service centres,” the company says. “We believe that continued growth in the rentals market provides huge opportunity for operators who deliver the highest levels of compliance and service to landlords and tenants.” Other changes include plans to decentralise its operations, give branches more information to help them measure their performance against local competitors and relaunch its ‘hybrid’ online offering. Online players “Previous management believed that it too should offer a digital fixed fee proposition in order to compete with the online players,” the company says. “The resulting hybrid digital fee proposition, however, led to confusion for our customers who expected to receive a full service at a reduced fee.” The other key new focus for Countrywide will be to restore its revenue pipeline of ancillary income from services such as conveyancing and mortgages,…
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Agencies & People
LSL reveals profits up by 8% and two more digital investments
Estate agency corporate LSL boosted its performance last year with a £5.6 million windfall from the sale of its shares in the Guild of Professional Estate Agents, its preliminary results reveal, lifting underlying profits by 8%. This ‘exception gain’ plus increased revenue from its branch network including a 10% lettings revenue increase at flagship brand Marsh & Parsons, and very strong results from its mortgage business, helped make 2017 a good year for the company. Its performance, which has been achieved during a difficult sales market, has also been delivered despite 2016’s stellar results, which were boosted by a £32.9 million windfall from the sale of ZPG shares. Last year it also spend £20 million spent on its investment in hybrid agency YOPA in September and, after its strategic review, two other interesting investments. This includes an undisclosed sum in Zero Deposit, the Jon Notley-led alternative deposits model, and £65,000 invested in an online mortgage broker called Property Master. “The Group delivered a robust financial performance given the subdued market conditions,” says Chairman Simon Embley (pictured, left). “I am pleased that the business delivered underlying operating profit growth in both the Estate Agency and Surveying Divisions.” LSL is much loved…
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Latest property news
Don’t blame flat property market on recent interest rate rise, says Bank of England
The impact of last November’s half-a-percent interest rate rise on home buyer confidence has been offset by the UK’s cheap and readily-available mortgages, the Bank of England (BoE) has revealed in its latest update on the economy. The report, which is compiled by its 12 agents across the country by talking to 700 businesses including estate agents, looked at the economy from late November last year until mid-January 2018 and compared business activity with the previous quarter and year. As well as increasing its base rate from 0.25% to 0.5% in early November last year, the BoE’s Monetary Policy Committee last week said another interest rate rise could take place as early as May. It also said that more interest rates are in the pipeline as the economy grows, signalling an end to UK homeowners’ reliance on cheap mortgages and credit. The BoE Agents’ Report also says that housing market activity remains subdued but steady, held down by both weak supply and demand, but that the new-build and rental sectors remain buoyant, pushing up new-build prices and rents. “Housing demand was particularly weak in London and the South East, especially for the most expensive properties,” it says. The BoE report…
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Latest property news
20% more landlords struggling with mortgage payments than a year ago
The number of landlords struggling financially has soared by 20%, figures from UK Finance, the organisation replacing the Council of Mortgage Lenders, reveal. Its latest market report shows that the number of landlords with more serious mortgage arrears is on the increase. Those with arrears of between 7.5% and 10% of their balance increased by a fifth year-on-year, although the buy-to-let ‘crackdown’ being led by the government has yet to drive increased possessions in this market – which have held steady. Buried deep in the UK Finance figures is one less publicised fact – that ten times fewer landlords are in mortgage difficulties than homeowners. This may baffle the many landlords who are facing increased lending criteria following the Prudential Regulation Authority’s recently-introduced stricter buy-to-let lending rules. But although the buy-to-let market is struggling, the lending market for homeowners is looking much brighter, UK Finance says. The number of homeowners with arrears of up to 5% of their mortgage balance has been dropping dramatically over the few years, down from 55,000 mortgage in 2014 to 34,500 mortgage during the final quarter of last year. And year-on-year, this type of mortgage arrears decreased by 10%. Also, those in serious arrears has…
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