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The government has given the green light to build the first major reservoirs in 30 years to supply the building of new homes. Environment Secretary Steve Reed has seized control of the planning process to build two major reservoirs for the first time since the 1990s. The new reservoirs, located in East Anglia and Lincolnshire, will supply three quarters of a million homes and unlock the building of tens of thousands more as part of the government’s Plan for Change. These plans are part of the government’s commitment to build nine new reservoirs, supporting its plans to deliver 1.5m new homes by the end of this parliament. Anglian Water is proposing to build the Lincolnshire Reservoir to the south of Sleaford, aiming to be operational by 2040. They have also partnered with Cambridge Water to propose the Fens Reservoir, located between the towns of Chatteris and March, set to be completed in 2036. The Lincolnshire Reservoir would provide up to 166m litres of water per day for up to 500,000 homes. The Fens would supply a much needed 87m litres to 250,000 homes in the driest region of the UK. Water minister Emma Hardy says: “Today we are backing the builders not the blockers, intervening in the national interest and slashing red tape to make the planning process faster to unblock nine new reservoirs.” “This Government will secure our water supply for future generations and unlock the building of thousands of homes as part of the Plan for Change.” Last week, Crown Estate and Lendlease announced they had formed a partnership, which is set to unlock 26,000 new homes. The deal will see one-third of the 26,000 homes allocated to affordable housing and support the government’s aim to build 1.5 million new homes by 2029. The post Govt green lights first reservoirs in 30 years to supply new homes appeared first on Mortgage Strategy.

Principality Intermediaries has made changes to its business development team including the appointment of Carly Scholes. Scholes will take on the role of business development manager and cover the East England area. She joins with financial service experience after working at Suffolk Building Society for almost seven years. Scholes’ new role will focus on Cambridge, Chelmsford, Colchester, Hemel Hempstead, Ipswich, Luton, Milton Keynes, Norwich, St Albans, Stevenage, Slough and Southend-on-Sea. Principality has also expanded Jo Silcox’s territory, extending from Newport to Hereford, and Cara Thompson has adopted the South-West of England region following Alan Browning’s retirement.  Principality Intermediaries national intermediary manager Helen Lewis says: “We’re delighted to welcome Carly to our team; she brings a wealth of knowledge and experience. Her expertise will be vital as we look to make more possible for brokers across the East of England.” “With the changes for the East of England, South Wales and South-West England, we’re continuing to enhance brokers support across the country as we implement our growth plans for 2025 and beyond.” Earlier this week, Principality Intermediaries announced it had cut selected fixed home loans by 20 basis points. The post Principality Intermediaries adds Scholes to business development team appeared first on Mortgage Strategy.

The former chief operating officer at Equity Release Council, Donna Francis, has joined the Equity Release Group as a non-executive director.   The later life broker says Francis (pictured) will focus on “broadening the scope of accessibility in using property wealth as a catalyst for financial planning requirements, while helping to lift standards across the industry”. Francis spent a decade as chief operating officer at Equity Release Council, responsible for the development of operations, regulatory policy, industry standards setting, membership propositions, corporate governance, and financial controls. She left her post last May. Before that she spearheaded industry-wide high-profile projects, including the merger of the Life Insurance Association and Society of Financial Advisers to create the Personal Finance Society, followed by the launch of the Society of Mortgage Professionals, in a 30-year career.  Equity Release Group founder and chief executive Mark Gregory says: “She [Francis] brings with her a wealth of invaluable experience in our sector. She is driven by integrity, and dedicated to nurturing a positive culture that empowers teams to thrive.   “I am confident that together we can drive scalability and security across the market, to deliver an enhanced customer experience, alongside exceptional quality advice.”    Francis adds: “Equity Release Group is entering an exciting stage of their journey, and I am delighted that I can be a part of helping to shape their future, as well as the future success of the industry.” The post Former Equity Release Council COO joins Equity Release Group appeared first on Mortgage Strategy.

MPowered Mortgages has launched a new case tracking timeline to give broker-partners visibility over every stage of a client’s applications. The new timeline, which is inspired by step-by-step progress tracking, presents each milestone in a clear, visual format. It allows brokers to see when key actions take place, such as when a valuation is booked or completed, or when an affordability decision is made. The layout is set out to access key information with ease including underwrite questions, case documents and solicitor details. MPowered Mortgages head of broker operations Rhonda Bryant says: “MPowered’s new case timeline is a game-changer for us brokers. Being able to see every stage of a client’s case including valuation updates via my mobile without having to call the helpdesk will make life so much easier for me.” “Calling up lenders to get updates on client cases can be so unnecessarily time consuming and unhelpful for my day-to-day. It’s exactly the kind of innovation our industry needs and other lenders should follow by example.” Yesterday, MPowered Mortgage announced the promotion of Peter Stimson to managing director of mortgages. The post MPowered launches case tracking timeline for brokers appeared first on Mortgage Strategy.

Loans Warehouse has announced the appointment of Nigel Lewis (pictured) as head of key accounts. With over 20 years’ experience in the financial services industry, Lewis will lead the expansion of the company’s network partnerships, working closely with the wider distribution team. His role will focus on enhancing key partnerships and relationships with mortgage clubs and networks. As part of its wider growth strategy, Loans Warehouse has also welcomed two further appointments. Victoria Symmonds joins as head of in-house recruitment and Michelle Collins joins as completions manager. The post Loans Warehouse appoints Lewis head of key accounts appeared first on Mortgage Strategy.

Keystone Property Finance has reintroduced a 7% arrangement fee option on selected five-year loans allowing landlords to borrow more, while Virgin Money lifts some residential and buy-to-let loans as well as withdrawing others.    The specialist lender’s 7% arrangement fee is available on its five-year standard products at 65% loan to value and 75% LTV, as well as on its five-year specialist deals at 65% LTV and 75% LTV for properties with one to six occupants or units.  Its rates for these products are:  Five-year standard — 4.69% at 65% LTV, and 4.79% at 75% LTV  Five-year specialist — 4.99% at 65% LTV, and 5.09% at 75% LTV  Keystone Property Finance managing director Elise Coole says: “Recent increases in mortgage rates have made it more challenging for some landlords to pass affordability stress tests and secure the borrowing they need.   “By reintroducing our 7% arrangement fee products, we’re responding directly to these market pressures and providing landlords with a practical solution to achieve higher leverage, even in a tougher rate environment.” Meanwhile, Virgin has raised selected residential and buy-to-let loans as well as withdrawing four products from today.  The high street lender’s price rises include: Purchase: Selected two- and five-year fixes, with a £995 fee have been increased by up to 15bps Selected Own New fixes have been increased by up to 15bps Remortgage: Retrofit Boost five-year fixes, with a £995 fee, have been increased by up to 15bps BTL: 60% LTV two- and five-year fixes, with a £2,195 fee, have been increased by up to 10bps The lender has also withdrawn these loans: 75% LTV five-year fixes, with a £895 fee, at 4.09% 75% LTV five-year fee-saver fixes at 4.24% 85% LTV five-year fixes, with a £995 fee, at 4.19% 85% LTV five-year fixes, with a £995 fee, at 4.24% The post Keystone brings back 7% landlord fees, Virgin lifts rates by up to 15bps   appeared first on Mortgage Strategy.

The Equity Release Council has added property valuations firm PriceHubble as an associate member.     The data insights firm collects a range of information in the mortgage market — including energy performance, climate risk and cladding statistics — in order to streamline underwriting.  The company has a presence in 11 countries, including France, Germany, Japan, the US as well as the UK.  PriceHubble managing director Mark Cunningham (pictured) says: “With 22 million people over 50 in England alone, the UK has a significant and growing later life lending market.   “We are therefore pleased to join the Equity Release Council and position ourselves to use our high-quality data-driven insights to support the businesses in this important sector as well as the customers they serve.”  Equity Release Council chief executive Jim Boyd adds: “Data plays a crucial role in the later life lending industry with customers relying on advisers and providers to make accurate and long-term decisions based on the anticipated value of their homes.” The post Equity Release Council adds PriceHubble as associate member   appeared first on Mortgage Strategy.

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.