House Prices Down in February

House prices recorded their first fall since June with a fall of 1.5% in February according to the Halifax. The fall was blamed on the end of stamp duty relief, the cold weather and more properties coming onto the market.

Prices are still 4.5% up on the previous year and 8% higher than the low point of April 2009, but the market has slowed down in recent months. According to the chief economist at Nationwide, it would have been difficult for the housing market to maintain it momentum from 2009, and that it would be good for house prices not too race away from the economic fundamentals.

The number of new buyers making enquiries fell at the start of the year and home loan lending fell by 32% in January, all helping to keep prices lower.

House Repossessions at 14 year High

House repossessions have reached a 14 year high, with an average of 126 repossessions a day in the past year.

The total for 2009 was 46,000 repossessions the highest level since 1995 and 15% higher than 2008.

The Council of Mortgage Lenders is forecasting a large increase in repossessions in 2010, blaming economic uncertainty and possible rising in interest rates. However, the CML did forecast 75,000 repossessions in 2009.

House Prices Up Again, But Rate Slows

House prices rose for the 7th month in a row in January, according to the Halifax. Prices rose by 0.6%, the lowest increase in 6 months. The average price of a home in the UK is £169,777, 9.9% higher than in April 2009 when prices hit their lowest point.

The Halifax data backs up the opinion that rises are levelling out with many economists predicting prices to remain flat across the 2010, mainly as more properties come on to the market, as it is the lack of supply that has bolstered prices over the last 12 months.

Mortgages - SVRs Go Up, Fixed Rates Go Down!

We currently seeing disparate movement in the mortgage market with some lenders raising their Standard Variable Rates, while others are reducing their foxed rate deals.

Several lenders have launched new 'best buy' mortgages this week and over 300 new mortgage deals have been launched since the start of 2010. This had given 26% mortgages available for borrowers with a deposit of less than 10%. We've seen falls in some fixed rate deals as banks start to compete again within certain specific markets. For instance the average 2 year fixed rate deal has fallen from 4.88% to 4.81% - a small percentage but still a fall. The average 5 year deal has gone down by 0.09%. Santander has this week launched a new 2 year fixed rate deal ar 3.44% for those with a 30% deposit.

The flip side of this is that some lenders, such as Skipton and today Norwich & Peterborough, have increased their standard variable rates, as they face more competition in the savings market, a major source of their mortgage funding.

Norwich & Peterborough's SVR has been increased from 4.85% to 5.35%, despite an historically low Bank of England Base Rate of 0.5%.