The FPC Misses Open Goal to Reflect Mortgage Product Changes Since 2014 The FPC has announced the abolition of its requirement for lenders to use a 3% margin to stress test mortgages with an initial…
The Financial Policy Committee’s Mortgage Stress Test Consultation Most lenders and brokers consider that the Financial Policy Committee’s (FPC) stress test and flow limit test have survived well…
The Effect (or Lack of It) of the NI Increase on Mortgage Affordability The increased National Insurance rates applying from this week have focused interest on what impact this will have on mortgage…
What Impact Could the Russian Invasion of Ukraine Have on the UK Property Market? The shocking events of the last couple of days, in which Russia began their invasion of Ukraine, have left many…
New Tax Rules to Avoid Holiday Lets Abuse Michael Gove has announced new rules from April 2023 which are designed to prevent tax abuse by some owners of second homes in England. Michael Gove has…
Autumn Budget 2021 Yields have fallen sharply across the board, with the biggest decreases at the long end, suggesting that the market is now taking a more positive view of longer term inflationary…
What Do Current Housing Trends Mean for the Market? Update and Survey Results We carried out a survey through YouGov where we looked at how important the Stamp Duty holiday was to people considering…
How Have House Prices Changed Over the Last Year and What Does the Future Hold? The June annual house price increase of 13.4% will be the peak for this cycle. The June annual house price increase of…
How Long Will the Mortgage Guarantee Scheme Last? Government intervention can be helpful in the short term to address a problem but once adequate private sector alternatives become readily available…
Ray Boulger’s 2021 Forecasts The Nationwide house price index was 6.7% up in the first 11 months of 2020 and the UKHPI (UK House Price Index) annual increase to October was 5.4%. I expect prices to…
