House prices increase as Remo market 'well and truly open'!

According to a recent poll by Safestore Moving and Improving Index, a massive 50% of tenants believe they won’t own a property at any stage in their lifetime.  Its recent poll, which quizzed 2,058 adults, found that 42% of people wanting to get on the property ladder think that their best hope of being able to afford a home is to inherit money or a house itself.   Lack of deposit and the inability to get a mortgage are cited as the main reasons stopping those that don’t currently own a home getting on the property ladder, according to 29% and 17% of respondents respectively

House prices increased in May.  Halifax House Price Index suggest they increased by 0.5% and Nationwide suggest a raise of 0.3%.  This was the second successive increase in these measures.  The price of a typical home is now £166,022.

I was surprised to see the news that price comparison site MoneySupermarket.com is set to acquire MoneySavingExpert for £87m.  A £35m upfront cash payment will be made as part of the deal alongside approximately 22.1m MoneySupermarket.com shares. There is also a deferred consideration of up to £27m subject to performance.  Credit to Martin Lewis, the personal finance journalist who set up MSE in 2003, and who will become an employee of Moneysupermarket.com.  However, it will be interesting to see if MSE can remain a truly independent and unbiased advice service moving forward.  There’s a big price tag to repay.

Finally, the remortgage market is well and truly open – some lenders are actively looking for business. Now is a superb time to review your current mortgage and possibly obtain a great rate with minimal (if any) costs to change your mortgage. Whether you want to fix your monthly payments for a period of time, or you fancy a low rate tracker mortgage, or maybe both - a tracker rate with the option to fix later on, there are plenty of great products currently available.  If you are in any doubt, speak to a mortgage adviser, get a free mortgage review and you may not miss out on some great offers before they are gone.  It’s good to talk!