If you bought your home between 2006 and 2008 you may well have sufficient equity in your property to remortgage, according to HSBC, one of the UK’s biggest lenders.

Gross mortgage lending is now at its lowest point since April 2000 according to the latest figures released by the CML. Lending dropped by 12% between April and March and now stands at £10.2 billion. The Council says that the fall was due to the seasonal decline as Easter was in April.

A new lender, Precise Mortgages, entered the mortgage market yesterday. The group will lend funds to investment landlords providing they have at least 25% to put down as a deposit.

Although there has been a recent surge in the number of properties coming onto the market, buyers are finding it increasingly difficult to obtain a competitive mortgage.

The British public no longer understands the state of the mortgage market, with the recession has causing our perception of the market to differ from the reality.

186,300 people were behind with their mortgage repayments in the first three months of this year says the CML. The figure has been slowly dropping over the last year.

According to a new report by the Halifax, an investment in a contractor mortgage could double or even triple your overall household wealth. The mortgage provider has found that, on average, home buyers are considerably better off over the long term and those who choose to rent.

Now that we have a new government in place experts in the housing sector are pleased to learn that we will see the end of HIPs. However, in keeping with their ‘green’ policy, sellers will still be required to obtain Energy Performance Certificates.

The annual springtime uplift in house prices has once again been recorded by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. Despite the economic and political uncertainty, 17 per cent more surveyors have indicated that property prices were on the increase in April.

Both lenders and borrowers have no motivation to transact in the current uncertainty. Very few lenders have made significant interest rate cuts and the smaller companies simply can’t afford to follow suit at the moment.

One could argue that in taking out a contractor mortgage, safety should be a primary factor. So a five year fixed rate would be the best way to go….or would it? The question remains as to whether or not there is another way that would best suit contractors and freelancers.

The FSA’s proposal to introduce an approved persons regime has come under fire from the Council of Mortgage Lenders.