Kenneth Clarke has warned that we’re in for economic turmoil for the next three years; a statement which conflicts with both the PM’s and the Chancellor’s assurances that we are out of the danger zone.

On Wednesday, Mark Hoban, the Treasury Minister announced that he intends to tighten the rules governing the mortgage market in Britain in order to give consumers greater protection.

First-time buyers have been struggling to get their foot on the housing ladder for some time now and the lack of finance from mortgage lending companies has been largely to blame.

Where is the best place to buy a property and what sort of home should you go for? There have been some useful surveys around recently that could give prospective house buyers some clues.

House prices started to rebound last year as the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy committee held the base rate at 0.5%. Despite this, the demand for contractor mortgages weakened. The latest figures from the CML showed that mortgage advances in 2010 fell to their lowest level in ten years.

The January Trends in Lending Report from the Bank of England shows that mortgage approvals for house buyers dropped to 40,000, a 21 month low, in December. To show just how big a drop this really is, in November 2009, 60,000 home purchase mortgages were approved.

If you have a bit of spare cash left at the end of the month, it could be worth adding a little extra on top of your normal contractor mortgage monthly repayment.

The House of Commons debated the Mortgage Market Review on Monday evening, giving MPs the opportunity to put forward their objections to the financial secretary to the Treasury, Mark Hoban.

An economic consultancy has warned that mortgage lending restrictions are now even tighter than they were six months ago, a scenario that will not help first time buyers.

It’s inevitable that interest rates will rise, but when? Is now the time to start shopping around for a new contractor mortgage deal?

Experts now expect to see interest rates starting to rise again by June. This will bring welcome relief to the 38 million savers in the UK, but what will it mean for people with contractor mortgages?

Barratt Developments has stepped in to help first-time buyers get a foot on the housing ladder.