Some Britons are aiming to cut their mortgage costs and lower stress levels by moving to a smaller property When Richard Wise* moved from London to Margate in Kent three years ago, he did not expect to move again any time soon. But the music industry manager and his partner are planning to downsize from a four- to a three-bedroom property after their mortgage rate quadrupled. “After Liz Truss’s bombshell [the September 2022 mini-budget that led to rising mortgage rates], our mortgage repayments doubled last year,” the 40-year-old says ..read more

Drop in March leaves average price of home at £288,430, says Halifax UK house prices fell in March for the first time in six months as more costly mortgage deals and continued uncertainty about when the Bank of England would start cutting interest rates hit the property market. House prices fell by 1%, or £2,908, in March compared with February, according to Halifax’s house price index. The average property now costs £288,430. Compared with the same month last year, property prices were up 0.3 ..read more

Average price of home down 0.2% from February to March, to £261,142, says Nationwide The UK housing market was “subdued” in March with prices edging down on the previous month as high mortgage rates continued to affect the market, according to Nationwide building society. It is the first time in three months that house prices have fallen, after gains of 0.7% in the previous two months ..read more

High property prices and rising interest rates and living costs are hindering would-be homeowners, but there are options Diary of a first-time buyer: ‘Five brokers, four offers - but at last I’m a homeowner’ How to pick a mortgage and the best UK deals Dream homes for first-time buyers in England – in pictures The weather is warming up, and so too is the property market, according to some reports – which may not be music to the ears of would-be first-time buyers. The average asking price of a home in the UK has jumped by more than £5,000 (or 1.5%) in a month, according to the latest data fro ..read more

Though spending £2,000-plus a month on rent seemed ridiculous, buying a property was not an easy option How to get yourself mortgage ready How to pick a mortgage and the best UK deals I started looking into buying a property in June 2022 – partly driven by my parents, who thought the £2,040 a month I was paying in rent was ridiculous. They weren’t wrong. I knew I would love to own somewhere, but from listening to the news and what I knew of the London housing market, I thought it was out of my reach ..read more

Trying to choose between a fixed rate and a tracker, or thinking about getting help from family? Here are the options Trying to work out which mortgage is the right one for you can be daunting for anyone, but especially for a first-timer. There are more than 6,000 residential mortgage deals on the market. Here we run through some of the options and highlight some of the best rates currently on offer ..read more

A church mortgage supposed to help clergy buy their own home has turned into a huge burden for a woman who paid interest for almost 29 years The family of a vicar’s widow has accused the Church of England of behaving like a loan shark after a £55,000 mortgage it granted became a £313,000 debt – on top of monthly payments she has been making for almost 30 years. Tessa Norris* says her 84-year-old mother, Rose, has “devoted her life to the church, all on a voluntary basis” but that it is treating her, and others in a similar position, “as commodities to make money ..read more

Lenders reach preliminary agreement on key terms in deal to create new competitor with £366bn in assets Business live – latest updates Nationwide building society has agreed to buy its high-street rival Virgin Money for nearly £3bn in the largest UK banking deal since the 2008 financial crisis. The two lenders have reached a preliminary agreement on the key terms of the takeover, which – if approved – would narrow competition with the big four banks. It would create a combined group with £366bn in total assets, nearly 700 branches and more than 23 million customers ..read more

Halifax says prices grew by 1.7% on an annual basis with the average UK house now costing £291,699 Business live – news and updates Cornish village where 52% of houses are not first homes The average UK house price is now just £1,800 off the peak recorded in June 2022 after it increased by 0.4% in February, marking the fifth monthly rise in a row, according to Halifax. Property prices grew by 1.7% on an annual basis, compared with 2.3% the previous month, the building society said ..read more

Price of average property decreased by 1.4% in 12 months to December, says ONS Business live – latest updates The housing market is expected to stage a recovery in 2024 after average UK house prices fell by only £4,000 last year, according to official figures. The price of the average home decreased by 1.4% in the 12 months to December 2023, an improvement on an annual fall of 2.3% recorded in November, the Office for National Statistics said ..read more