Mortgages

Leeds Building Society is offering two new fixed-rate mortgage deals with no early repayment charges - fees that can sting borrowers for thousands of pounds if they pay off their loan early. They're usually attached to fixed rate deals, and especially cheaper deals, where the lender wants to see the borrower commit for a few years. As such, borrowers have traditionally had to choose for the security of a fixed rate mortgage or the flexibility of a variable rate.

The Government plans to replace Help to Buy with a scheme which could see local buyers a 33 per cent discount when buying a home in their area, it has confirmed. This comes as the Help to Buy scheme, which has helped thousands onto the housing ladder since 2013 , begins to phase out in the coming years.

My husband and I are retiring next year and we don't think that between us, our pensions will provide us with enough income to keep up with our lifestyle. We've heard that you can get a monthly income from equity release now? Should we do that or is it better to take a lump sum?

There are many reasons why people choose to move to a smaller place. Perhaps your kids have left so there's no need for all the extra room, or perhaps you want to release some cash to supplement retirement income. Maybe you're looking to move into a property that is easier to manage or easier to move around in, like a bungalow, or maybe you're just looking for a way to cut down the monthly bills.

An increasing number of buyers are seizing the opportunity to snap up a home for a decent price ahead of Boris Johnson's 31 October Brexit deadline. The number of homes sold in the last month jumped over 6 per cent, which is the highest seen over the typically sluggish summer period since 2015. Buyers are being spurred into action as sellers become more willing to drop their asking prices in a bid to secure a sale.

Buyers and sellers need 'more certainty' and clarity over Brexit to encourage them to list or snap up a home, Russell Galley, the managing director of Halifax bank has claimed. While dismally low housing stock levels are proving to be a 'major restraining' factor in the market, and Brexit uncertainty may be giving some buyers and sellers the jitters, overall, the housing market is 'displaying a reasonable degree of resilience', Galley added. The latest House Price Index revealed that property prices across the country dipped by 0.3 per cent to an average of £237,110 in June, while in the last quarter, prices were 2.4 per cent higher than they were in the preceding three months.

Amicia Novak, and her husband Dan bought a two-bed flat in Twickenham, South-West London, six years ago for £285,000. Now, with 14-month-old daughter Annabelle, they need more space. But, despite their flat now being worth £370,000, and with a budget of £600,000, they can not afford to move up the property ladder in their area.

It's stating the obvious to say the High Street is in crisis. It's worse than many think. In the year to April, the number of empty shops across the UK increased by more than 7,500. A report last month entitled UK Town Centres: What Next? by commercial property experts Cushman & Wakefield says: 'As we see a growing proportion of retailing shift online, there's a need to introduce alternative uses in town centres.' So given Britain's shortage of homes, is there an opportunity to convert these empty stores into houses?

A paper written by Tony Blair Institute chief economist Ian Mulheirn argues that building 300,000 homes a year wouldn't make homes in the UK more affordable. Instead, Mulheirn claims that rock bottom interest rates for more than a decade have made borrowing so cheap that those able to buy have ratcheted up their borrowing, causing prices to soar.