Day: May 28, 2025

Principality Intermediaries will cut selected fixed-rate home loan rates by 20 basis points, lift other prices by as much as 40bps and launch landlord loans. This comes as Family Building Society lowers residential rates by 20bps and launches five-year limited company landlord products. The Cardiff-based mutual will tomorrow (Wednesday) cut two-year residential fixes at 90% loan-to-value by 20bps and see two-year joint borrower sole proprietor 90% LTV deals come down by 20bps. While five-year residential 75% LTV fixes will rise by 36bps and five-year 75% LTV joint borrower sole proprietor products increase by 40bps. The lender will introduce three buy-to-let loans: Two-year 60% LTV fixes, with a £2,499 product fee Two-year 70% LTV fixes, with £2,499 product fee Two-year 75% LTV fixes, with £2,499 product fee Meanwhile, Family Building Society has launched a range of reduced rate owner occupier and buy-to-let products by up to 20bps. The society has also introduced two-year interest-only variants for loans over £500,000 and up to £4m available on a semi exclusive basis. Two-year fixed rate owner occupier interest-only products have been lowered by 10bps, while five-year rates have been cut by 5bps. It has also reduced its two-year joint borrower sole proprietor product by 25bps. Two-year rate owner occupier repayment fixes have gone down by 20bps, while five-year rates have been reduced by 5bps. Family Building Society’s UK landlords two-year fixes has been cut by 15bps and the five-year equivalent has been trimmed by 5bps. It has also reduced its five- and two-year limited company fixes by 15bps. For limited company landlords, the society has added new five-year BTL fixes, with a 3% product fee available for purchase and remortgage applications. The post Principality cuts and raises rates by 40bps, Family BS reduces fixes by 20bps appeared first on Mortgage Strategy.

House prices in rural areas have risen significantly higher over the last five years, compared to predominantly urban areas This is according to new market analysis from Nationwide, which reveals that between December 2019 and December 2024, house prices in rural areas increased by 23%, compared with 18% in predominantly urban areas. Local authorities classified as ‘urban with significant rural’ saw price growth of 22% over the same period. Commenting on the figures,Nationwide’s senior economist Andrew Harvey  said: “The pandemic had a significant impact on housing demand during 2021 and 2022, with our research at the time pointing to a shift in preferences towards more rural areas, particularly amongst older age groups. Whilst these effects have now faded, less urban areas have continued to hold the edge in terms of house price growth.” The Nationwide survey focused on homeowners who have moved in the last five years. It found that the majority (63%) of house moves were within the same type of area, with the biggest flow being within large towns or cities. About 9% of moves were from towns / cities to rural areas (villages or hamlets), although this was partially offset by 7% who moved from rural to more urban areas, Amongst those who moved to a different type of area, there was a significant difference by age group, with younger people (those aged 25-34) tending to move to more urban areas, whilst older age groups, particularly 55-plus, favouring more rural areas. Responding to the survey’s findings, NAEA Propertymark president Toby Leek said: “Rural houses continue to show as a popular choice amongst home movers even after the spike seen on the back of the COVID pandemic. A shift in trends, such as remote working, a desire for more outdoor space and changes to many people’s general cost of living budgets have pushed some to move to more rural locations.” He added: “Generally, these types of homes can offer some additional perks such as additional space both inside and out, privacy and a different pace of life.” The post Rural properties see highest price growth: Nationwide appeared first on Mortgage Strategy.

Housebuilders who fail to build homes may be stripped of land and face fines under new housing department proposals. Developers will also have to commit to delivery timeframes for new houses before being given planning permission to ensure that “thousands of new homes promised to communities will be delivered faster,” the department said. It added that housebuilders will have to submit annual reports showing their progress to local councils. But the government said that builders “who consistently fail to build out consented sites and those who secure planning permissions simply to trade land speculatively could also face a ‘Delayed Homes Penalty’ worth thousands per unbuilt home, paid directly to local planning authorities”. It added: “Those deliberately sitting on vital land, without building the homes promised could see their sites acquired by councils where there is a case in the public interest and stripped of future planning permissions”. These latest moves by the government to back its pledge to build 1.5 million homes over the next five years, were released over the weekend. Deputy Prime Minister and Housing Secretary, Angela Rayner said: “This government has taken radical steps to overhaul the planning system to get Britain building again after years of inaction. “Now it’s time for developers to roll up their sleeves and play their part. “We’re going even further to get the homes we need. No more sites with planning permission gathering dust for decades while a generation struggles to get on the housing ladder.” The housing department added that large housing sites, with over 2,000 homes, can take at least 14 years to build, “meaning working families and young people spend years deprived of homeownership or the ability to rent an affordable home”. But where more than 40% of homes are affordable, build-out is twice as fast,” the department pointed out. It said it would begin “testing a new requirement for large sites to be mixed tenure by default – helping to build more homes, including more affordable homes, faster”. The post Housebuilders face forced land sales if they fail to build homes appeared first on Mortgage Strategy.

Hodge has appointed John Carter to lead its real estate finance business. Cater joins from Aldermore Bank where he served as commercial director for just over seven years. He has also worked at National Australia Bank as head of CRE. He brings with him experience in leadership and delivering bespoke property development and investment finance solutions. Carter’s appointment comes as Hodge launches a brand refresh of its real estate finance division. Hodge chief executive officer David Landen says: “We’re thrilled to welcome John to the team at such a pivotal time.” “His appointment underlines our commitment to delivering on our promise of providing fast, flexible real estate finance solutions to support customers with their property development and investment ambitions.” Carter adds: “I look forward to working with the team to build on that legacy, expand our reach, and deliver even more tailored solutions to developers and investors across the UK.” Earlier this month, Hodge eased affordability stress rate calculations, which will allow it to grant loans that are almost 20% larger for average customers. The post Hodge hires Carter to head up real estate finance business appeared first on Mortgage Strategy.

Roma Finance has appointed six new team members across different areas of the business including case management, packaging, surveying and business development. The new recruits include Isabel Robin as case manager, Declan Henry as case manager, Ethan Hagel as internal monitoring surveyor, Eleanor Kenworthy as case manager, Fay Cripps as case manager and Jonathan Clarke-Quirk as business development executive. This comes following several recent product launches, including the revolving credit facility, alongside enhancements to the lender’s FLOW and GROW product ranges. Roma Finance founder and managing director Scott Marshall says: “We’ve had a phenomenal start to 2025, delivering a record first quarter and launching some of the most exciting product innovations in our history to date.” “The expansion of our team is a direct response to the increasing demand we’re seeing from brokers and customers, and we’re delighted to welcome this latest group of talented professionals into the business.” The post Roma Finance expands team with six recruits appeared first on Mortgage Strategy.