Experts have warned a Brexit vote could hit Britain's property market for at least the next two years as figures revealed a slight slowdown in annual house price growth last month. The average price of a UK property edged up 0.2 per cent to £204,368 in May, but annual growth slipped back to 4.7 per cent from 4.9 per cent in April, according to the latest monthly index from Nationwide Building Society.

'Lower for longer' rates of interest are inflating the housing bubble, with the price of homes currently to more than six times average earnings, 'within a whisker' of its pre-financial crash peak, according to research by Fathom Consulting. The current UK's house price to income ratio is at 6.1 times earnings, very close to the peak of 6.4 times recorded in the run un to the financial crash of 2008. But for homes to be priced in line with earnings, hence be affordable, the ratio should fall to 3.5.

Nationwide is set to launch mortgages that allow young people to get on the housing ladder by using wealth tied up in their parents or grandparents property. Bosses at the building society said they wanted to make it easier for relatives to pass on cash to first-time buyers.

Unwary first-time buyers could be pushed needlessly into smaller properties or different areas due to the 'dark art' of mortgage affordability calculators. Using a joint income of £75,000 and a deposit of £25,000 our investigations uncovered a near £200,000 difference between lenders' calculators' mortgage amounts.

In an estate agent's window in Streatham, South London, a two-bed flat starts at £500,000. Prices like this leave little room for the housing bubble to continue to inflate. I am scratching my head trying to work out how the property market can go any higher if everyone is priced out - so is a downturn on the way?

Rising rent and mortgage costs mean separate accommodation is not an option for the 7.2 million adults who return to live with Mum and Dad following a break up, divorce or separation, according to new research. It found that grown-up children typically spend six months living with their parents following a divorce or separation.

Surveyors in most parts of the UK recorded less interest from homebuyers, with a net balance of 22 per cent reporting a fall in new buyer enquiries. However, a shortage of homes on the market means prices are set to keep rising over the next few years, the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors report said.

A string of cities across England and Wales are rapidly becoming 'unaffordable hotspots' for first-time buyers. In Brighton, property prices have increased by 463 per cent in the last 20 years, leaving only 9 per cent of homes in the coastal city in the 'affordable' category, compared to 100 per cent in 1995. Across England and Wales, the average cost of a home has risen by around 306 per cent since 1995, with a typical property selling for 5.51 times more than the average first-time buyer's annual pay packet, the Post Office Money Mortgages said.

Tougher conditions for the buy-to-let market could backfire and result in amateur landlords selling their properties on to bigger players -  reducing properties available to home movers and first timers. Despite hopes that small landlords selling up in response to tax changes would increase the number of homes on the market, a mortgage expert has warned of the opposite.

Borrowers could be in something of a sweet spot, with lenders keen to lend, house prices rising and a first rate rise still considered a way off. We look at the best mortgage rates and whether now is a good time to fix your home loan.

For many buy-to-let looks an attractive income investment in a time of low rates and stock market volatility. Climbing house prices, rising rents and improving mortgage deals are tempting investors - although they will need a big deposit. Read This is Money's top ten buy-to-let tips

Our son is currently renting a flat with his girlfriend. We want to transfer him £15,000 for a house deposit so he is not needlessly paying money to a landlord every month. But how do we protect it from his partner in case they break up in the future?

The Land Registry data revealed that even in the South East (outside London), where property prices soared more than anywhere last year, suffered a 0.4 per cent dip last month. While annual rates of house price increase are still high in the South east at 10-15 per cent, the figures show a surprise turn for the housing market in a month when prices were expected to surge.

Families who own homes with 'granny flats' could be forced to knock them down if they want to sell their houses after being hit by a new tax. As many as 33,000 homeowners live in properties with a self-contained flat for an elderly relative. Under tax rules introduced yesterday, they will be classed as owning two properties if they try to sell up.

But the 'time to save' report by estate agents Hamptons International found that buying with someone else as a couple typically shaves around 10 years off the time it takes to get on the housing ladder. Couples in London face an eight-year wait to save enough for a deposit, compared with single people who face a wait of around 45 years and nine months, it found. Meanwhile, although the majority of Britons want to own their own home, 'generation rent' is giving up on getting on the property ladder, according to housing charity Shelter.

My sister and I are wondering whether to sell our late mother's house or let it out. If we sold now, would it be liable for capital gains tax? What would be the situation if we sold in ten years' time? Our mother spent the last two years of her life in a care home, so the house wasn't her main home.

A greenhouse not only provides a weatherproof outdoor sanctuary but a practical space where you can grow plants that will help you knock hundreds of pounds off your annual grocery bill. Those put off by the expense may find someone local who is willing to donate an old greenhouse for free. It will save the donor the effort of taking it away when no longer required.

Older borrowers are no longer being overlooked by Britain's biggest mortgage lenders with a move by Nationwide Building Society to increase its upper age for mortgage maturity from 75 to 85. The change comes hot on the heels of Halifax raising its own upper threshold from 75 to 80 last week.

Houses are expensive. The average home in the UK costs £268,000, according to the Office of National Statistics. Unless you are very wealthy, you are unlikely to be able to buy a home outright. Instead, you can use a mortgage to fund the bulk of the purchase. We explain the essentials.