Latest news from Heywoods

A Midlands estate agency is predicting that an increase in the Bank of England base rate will prompt a rush for fixed-rate mortgage deals, as homeowners panic about the threat of a succession of interest rate hikes.

A North Staffordshire estate agency has issued a word of encouragement to first-time buyers struggling to get on the property ladder, with a series of tips on improving their chances of getting a mortgage.

The Bank of England has kept interest rates at a record low of 0.5% for the 12th consecutive month.

Homeowners may end up paying more to sell if the Tories get into power and press ahead with their election promise of scrapping the much-maligned Home Information Packs (HIPs).

A Potteries estate agency has suggested that an upturn in new house building could provide the catalyst for a more sustainable recovery in the housing market.

News that the number of mortgages available on the market has broken through the 2,000 threshold for the first time in more than two years could provide the catalyst to stimulate more instructions and relieve the shortage of properties available on the market.

A Staffordshire estate agency has predicted a brighter outlook for buy-to-let homeowners after a new report revealed that more than 60% of tenants expected to remain in rented accommodation in the coming year.

A Staffordshire estate agency has renewed its call on homeowners to remain realistic about asking prices amid fears that some agents are telling sellers what they want to hear in a desperate bid to win scarce instructions.

The widening gap between low house price inflation in the North and surging property values in the South is currently the best possible news for homebuyers in North Staffordshire, according to one of the area's leading estate agencies.

A Staffordshire letting agency is backing government plans to launch a new website, which would allow private tenants to post reviews about landlords and their accommodation.

With so much conflicting information in the press and on TV, James Andrews of MSN Money asks what do house price stories actually tell you?

You can read the article below or click here

A new report by the Halifax building society says more homeowners are putting their properties on the market in response to more favourable conditions.

North Staffordshire remains one of the few areas accessible to first-time buyers, following a period of tighter lending restrictions in which average deposits demanded by lenders have more than doubled in the last 18 months.

The Nationwide Building Society has been quick off the mark in linking the end of the recession and rising house prices.

Heywoods is warning homebuyers to look behind the window dressing of introductory mortgage offers, after new research revealed that some borrowers are paying thousands more a year once their mortgage reverts to the standard variable rate (SVR).

Latest figures on mortgage lending show that it reached an estimated £13.7 billion in December according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML).

A Potteries estate agency has stepped up its efforts to get more houses onto its books - a move prompted by a serious shortage of houses for sale, which is driving up demand for property in the area.

New homeowners are spending less now than they did a decade ago on mortgage payments.

Expectations for house price increases in 2010 have risen considerably, according to new statistics, and that could prompt an upsurge in selling activity as market confidence increases.

New research has found that confidence levels in the housing market have returned to levels not seen since before the credit crunch.

UK interest rates have been kept unchanged at 0.5% following the Bank of England's latest meeting....http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8445893.stm

North Staffordshire estate agency Heywoods is urging buyers to take expert forecasts for house prices in 2010 with a pinch of salt, with predictions for the coming year varying significantly amongst leading property specialists.

A leading estate agency in The Potteries is advising homeowners in the area that now could be the best time to remortgage as prices show positive signs of recovery.

The housing market remained stable throughout 2009, despite gloomy predictions of a collapse in house prices, and can be explained by the underlying differences from the property slump of the early nineties, according to a North Staffordshire estate agency.

The General Election, a rise in VAT and the end of the stamp duty holiday are going to have a huge bearing on the property market in the first few months of 2010 according National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA).

A Newcastle-under-Lyme estate agency is urging house sellers in North Staffordshire to be more realistic about asking prices, after seeing raised expectations following the recent recovery in the housing market.

Two days after Chancellor Alistair Darling's pre-Budget report there is still uproar about his decision not to extend the stamp duty holiday on lower-value homes.

The number of mortgages granted to house buyers hit a 22-month high in October, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML). It said 55,300 mortgages were granted to buyers, the highest number since December 2007....

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8405477.stm

The Bank of England has held UK interest rates at the record low of 0.5% in a widely-expected move...http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8405543.stm

North Staffordshire estate agent Heywoods has welcomed news that Google is setting its sights on the British property market with plans to launch its own property search engine.

The latest monthly survey by the Nationwide has found that house prices have risen for the seventh month in a row.

The prospects for homeowners are looking brighter with two leading lenders forecasting double-digit property inflation by early next year and analysts pointing to concrete evidence of renewed confidence in the housing market.

The Shadow Housing Minister has confirmed that if the Conservative Party wins the next general election, Home Information Packs (HIPs) will be scrapped 'in a matter of weeks'.

Property has proven to be the best financial investment of the decade, despite the recent slowdown in house prices, according to figures from Nationwide Building Society.

Breaking news from the BBC http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8375865.stm

The number of new mortgages approved by the main banks for house purchase grew slightly in October.

New research from Rightmove has found a huge swing in the asking price expectations by homeowners.

The Tories have signalled plans to axe Home Information Packs if they are voted into power - a decision that looks set to prove popular with homeowners and estate agents.

First-time buyers have accounted for a significant proportion of new lending as the number of mortgages granted to homebuyers rose for the third consecutive month.

Estate agents are seeing an upsurge in demand for properties, with the number of house hunters now outstripping the number of homes on their books by a ratio of more than five to one.

The Bank of England has just announced that interest rates will be held at 0.5% - the eighth month in a row it has made such a call following six months of huge rate cuts.

The impact of the current stamp duty holiday has brought down the cost of moving home to the lowest level for ten years, according to the latest research.

GfK NOP's Consumer Confidence Index continues to delight Heywoods as the index has reached levels not seen for a couple of years.

The team at Heywoods dressed up in some spook-tacular outfits to help all our customers celebrate Halloween.

House prices have increased for the sixth month in a row according to the Nationwide.

House prices rose by 0.9% in September and the average price of a property in England and Wales now stands at £158,377 - according to the Land Registry.

The government has just launched a new scheme intended to help homeowners with temporary financial problems by allowing them to defer part of their interest repayments by up to two years.

Newcastle's leading estate agency has spoken out against the media reaction to FSA proposals that will effectively ban self-certification mortgages and require lenders to assess whether a borrower has enough disposable income to meet the repayments.

Latest figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) tell a tale of two contrasting mortgage markets, with August showing a general upward trend in the number of approvals for first-time buyers and home movers, while the number of remortgages continues to decline.

The Bank of England has kept UK interest rates on hold at 0.5% for the seventh successive month.

Heywoods is doubling its efforts to get more homeowners to put their houses on the market with Newcastle-under-Lyme's leading estate agent in a bid to satisfy eager househunters.

Estate agents are seeing renewed confidence in the housing market, confirmed by new figures from the UK's largest building society which reveal that house prices have increased the fifth month in a row.

News that HSBC is to bolster the funds it makes available for 90% mortgages, bringing a much-needed boost to first-time buyers desperate to get a foot on the property ladder has been welcomed by Heywoods

Heywoods has hailed the latest results of GfK NOP's Consumer Confidence Index as nothing short of miraculous.