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Estate agency and surveying giants Countrywide and LSL Property Services have confirmed that they are in merger talks. Both companies made stock market announcements this morning following speculation in the media. Countrywide, which was founded in 1986, owns the Hamptons International and Bairstow Eves brands and has more than 60 branches on the high street. The post Countrywide and LSL confirm merger talks appeared first on Mortgage Strategy.

The number of retirement interest-only mortgage products has almost doubled year on year from 38 to 74, figures from Moneyfacts show. Providers began offering the products after the FCA’s directive in March 2018 which reclassified this type of lending under the mainstream mortgage banner instead of equity release. It took a while for lenders to The post Number of RIOs doubles: Moneyfacts appeared first on Mortgage Strategy.

The Nottingham Building Society has cut rates on its retirement interest-only range and added a fixed product and a discount product to its armoury. The new fixed offering is a 40 per cent LTV seven-year product set at 3.85 per cent and comes with a free valuation. Likewise, the building society’s other addition is set The post The Nottingham rejigs RIO range appeared first on Mortgage Strategy.

The stress of housing problems is preventing almost 2m people from having children, the Affordable Housing Commission has claimed. Its research found that 13 per cent of adults under the age of 45 and in a couple have delayed having children or decided against doing so because of their housing situation. The group, which is The post Housing stress prevents millions from having children appeared first on Mortgage Strategy.

Preparing for an upswing in demand, the benefits of working with seasoned pros, and a sudden fondness for long-distance cycling The post One to One: Chris Sykes, Private Finance appeared first on Mortgage Strategy.

The number of product transfers completed on an execution-only basis dropped by 4.8 per cent in 2019, while the number of advised transfers increased by 6.9 per cent, the latest data from UK Finance reveals. Over the course of 2019, nearly 1.2m borrowers switched mortgages worth a total of £167bn to a new deal their The post Drop in execution-only product transfers: UK Finance appeared first on Mortgage Strategy.

The cost of 10-year fixed rates has continued to fall over the past week, the latest figures from Moneyfacts reveal. The week before last, the average 10-year fixed across all loan-to-values dropped from 2.75 per cent to 2.73 per cent. Over the past week the rate has dipped further to 2.72 per cent but lower The post Weekly rate watch: 10-year fixes dip further appeared first on Mortgage Strategy.

As I was just about to start writing this piece an email flashed up in the bottom righthand corner of my computer screen. It was from my bank and had the subject line ‘How are you preparing for the future, Mr Tan?’ This was followed by the line ‘Take action today for a better tomorrow’.  The post Buy-to-let Watch: On updating our understanding appeared first on Mortgage Strategy.

The number of residential property sales increased by 5.2 per cent year on year to 102,810 in January, stamp duty figures from HM Revenue & Customs reveal. The numbers only cover transactions of £40,000 or more as below this level home buyers do not have to register the purchase with HMRC. January’s figure is also The post January sees jump in property sales: HMRC appeared first on Mortgage Strategy.

The number of active conveyancing firms has fell by 5 per cent in 2019 to a record low of 3,920, research by Search Acumen has found. The data insight firm reports that transactions were down by 15 per cent  year on year to 226,444 in the fourth quarter of 2019 – the lowest level for The post Conveyancer numbers dwindle as volumes plunge appeared first on Mortgage Strategy.