More residential property developers are expecting to build ‘family’ homes - three or more bedrooms - rather than first-time buyer properties in the 2010s, according to research conducted by property specialists, movewithus.

The Financial Services Authority has banned mortgage intermediary Andrew Emelife for knowingly submitting mortgage applications to lenders that contained false and misleading income information.

Legal & General’s quarterly ‘Mortgage Purchase Index’ shows there has been a big shift towards tracker rate mortgages. In the fourth quarter of 2009, 43% of residential mortgages were trackers, up from 17% in quarter three.

The Association of Mortgage Intermediaries (AMI) has voiced its support for Conservative plans to raise the current stamp duty threshold to £250,000.

Gross mortgage lending by building societies was £1.8 billion in December, compared to £1.6 billion in November, an increase of 15%.

The Financial Services Authority has published new rules and guidance which put in place a strong framework of consumer protection for vulnerable consumers in the sale and rent back (SRB) market.

A consultation on whether homeowners who have failed to repay consumer credit debts should have accrued a minimum level of debt before a court can order the sale of their home has been released by the Ministry of Justice.

The 'Mortgage Repossessions (Protection of Tenants etc.) Bill 2009' had its second reading in the House of Commons last Friday.

As an increasing amount of borrowers face up to the prospect of being unable to sustain payments for their buy-to-let properties, lenders continue to face the task of successfully managing and assisting customers through this potentially sustained period of risk.

Gavin Dowell of Glenisters assesses the current judicial approach to mortgage possession litigation as lenders continue to show forbearance

A new Scottish Bill is set to bring about big changes to lenders’ repossession procedures in Scotland. Lenders need to be aware of what is on the horizon, says Denise Loney of Optima Legal

More than one million householders have used credit cards to pay their mortgage or rent in the last 12 months, according to a survey by housing charity Shelter.

A consultation on whether homeowners who have failed to repay consumer credit debts should have accrued a minimum level of debt before a court can order the sale of their home has been released by the Ministry of Justice.

Gavin Dowell of Glenisters assesses the current judicial approach to mortgage possession litigation as lenders continue to show forbearance

A new Scottish Bill is set to bring about big changes to lenders’ repossession procedures in Scotland. Lenders need to be aware of what is on the horizon, says Denise Loney of Optima Legal

The ‘Turning the tide?’ report,  published by advice sector organisations Advice UK, Citizens Advice Bureau and Shelter in December, suggested a third of mortgage lenders are failing to comply with the Mortgage Pre-Action Protocol (MPAP).

The Equity Release Solicitors’ Alliance (ERSA) has signed up new Scottish member, Caesar & Howie.

A consultation paper containing detailed proposals for reforming the delivery of legal services in England and Wales has been published by the Legal Services Board (LSB).

Neil Warman of HML examines how funding is driving strategic change throughout the mortgage industry and how obtaining it is only the first hurdle when deciding how to operate in the UK lending market

David Ellis and Guru Rao of Capco look at what is key to successful sourcing initiatives and how the adoption of a particular governance model is dependent on the size, maturity and development of an organisation's sourcing capability

The TrigoldCrystal equity release sourcing system went live today for all users. This new tool enables intermediaries to source and select equity release products using a ‘benefits driven’ sourcing engine and will be available to the seven out of ten brokers using the TrigoldCrystal system.

Xit2, the property data hub, has joinied the Council of Mortgage Lenders as an Associate Member. The CML now has 84 Associate Members and, after Bank of China joined in October, 136 Full Members.

Servicing commercial mortgages is complex, particularly since the number of loans in default has risen. Mark Miller of LNR Partners & Hatfield Philips discusses how CMBS servicers’ responsibilities have increased

HML, the financial outsourcing provider, has won the Silver Award for Europe in the 2009 Global Awards for Excellence in Business Process Management (BPM) and Workflow.

The Financial Services Authority has banned the director of a Manchester based mortgage and general insurance firm from holding senior positions in the financial services industry after his failure to comply with client money rules resulted in the loss of around £85,000 of his customers’ money.

The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee has voted to maintain Bank Base Rate at 0.5% and to keep quantitative easing at £200 billion.

The Conservative Party will not achieve its aim of creating a savings culture in the UK if they cut the Child Trust Fund (CTF), says Family Investments.

The overall level of fraud increased by 9 per cent during 2009, according to CIFAS - The UK's Fraud Prevention Service.

Although changes in regulation are due, once the Mortgage Market Review has been completed, it could take some time before anything actually happens. Paul Hunt of Phoebus Software discusses how this will impact on lenders and software suppliers

2010 is shaping up to be a year of change for the country, not to mention the housing market and more specifically the survey and valuation industry. Ross Bowen of Connells Survey & Valuation looks at the year ahead