The main theme of the weekend's press was unsurprisingly speculation surrounding Wednesday's Budget. Will Philip Hammond help the UK housing market?
The most popular thought is that he might help First Time Buyers by increasing their threshold from £125,000 to £250,000, although the Financial Times was keen to point out that this will do little to help those unable to pass mortgage lenders' stringent stress tests. The Times suggest that he might extend the Help to Buy scheme, which is explained in the Mail on Sunday's options for First Time Buyers article.
The Times highlighted that mortgage brokers are reporting that average valuations are coming in around 15% below client's expectations when remortgaging in London. They were keen to point out that a lot of valuations simply for remortgage purposes are completed via an automated desktop valuation, which can miss home improvements such as extensions.
Nationwide has launched an equity release scheme for the over 55s, making it the only high street mortgage lender to currently offer a lifetime mortgage.
