Housing market remains reasonably strong despite summer lull

Posted on May 18, 2012 by

Although a summer decline in figures throughout the property and mortgage markets within the UK has been seen, the mortgage broker will today be boosted by evidence to show that housing market activity has remained relatively robust. The latest Housing Market Activity Report by Connells has shown residential mortgage valuation activity increase year on year, increasing confidence within the market that economic life is set to improve.

Although the total number of valuations conducted throughout July rose by a sharp 47% compared to this time last year, there was still an 18% drop in residential valuations seen from last month’s figures, although the usual summer lull in valuation activity ensured that this was expected. Continue reading →

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More people having to raid savings to make ends meet

Posted on May 11, 2012 by

Families are having to rely on savings to afford the essentials. A growing number of families are being forced to raid savings accounts such as ISAs as a way of affording essential everyday outgoings like gas and electric.

That is the view of Tim Nichols, spokesman for the Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG), who has said the rising cost of living in the aftermath of the global economic downturn is putting additional pressure on household finances.

Mr Nichols explained that consequently, those who are “fortunate to have a bank account” containing spare funds face little choice but to dip into these funds put aside just to make ends meet on their bills.

He stated that there has been “some evidence” in recent economic figures that this is the case, as consumer spending patterns appear to show the increasing reliance individuals have on the likes of ISAs. Continue reading →

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