housepoker

Keep up the good work Eric! Remember - nobody saw this coming. HP

Cash is being withdrawn to cover income shortfall or to deposit with retail funds Retail investors are starting to pile back into equity funds at the end of a record quarter for sales, according to the latest IMA monthly figures. ... http://www.investmentweek.co.uk/investment...rn-equity-funds The upshot is that there is less to lend. Follow the money, not housing. HP

Yes, utter utter rubbish. "The latest property market survey from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) showed fewer estate agents are now reporting falling prices. It said 59.9 per cent more estate agents said prices were falling rather than rising in April compared to the previous month" So 40.1 per cent say prices are stable or rising. Since when was 59.9 < 40.1? Any ideas why The Telegraph don't have a "Have Your Say" capability?

I bet whoever clicked to read my reply wished they hadn't bothered.

After a number of blatant efforts to revive the property market this week, its comforting to see that similar ramping in the states has just been blown apart: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/finance...es-on-hold.html "The fledgling recovery in the US housing market appears to have stalled, reducing the chance of President Barack Obama's "glimmers of hope" turning into green shoots any time soon. Hopes of a recovery were also damped down as the US registered its first year-on-year fall in inflation for more than half a century in March, due to falls in energy prices. Recovery of the housing market is central to the recovery of the US economy, and the latest data puts paid to comments this week by President Obama that he saw "glimmers of hope" in the economy. His views were largely based on earlier housing surveys. The number of US citizens losing their homes leapt by 44pc last month (oof), as banks pursued delinquent borrowers after federal mortgage lenders Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac lifted temporary bans on foreclosures. A survey by Foreclosures.com found that 175,199 homes were repossessed by lenders in March. In spite of major banks promising to work with troubled mortgage holders to keep them in their homes, almost 370,000 families have lost their homes so far this year. Mortgage applications also fell last week for the first time in more than a month, suggesting that even with borrowing costs at record lows, potential house buyers are staying out of the market. The bearish outlook was compounded by the Federal Reserve's Beige Book, which provides an assessment of regional economic activity. It said the US economy continued to weaken in March – albeit at a slower rate – and found that the housing market remains "depressed overall". President Obama's comments, which were backed by Fed chairman Ben Bernanke's talk of "tentative signs" of recovery, are at odds with those from Mike Duke, chief executive of Wal-Mart, America's largest retailer. In a TV interview Mr Duke said the economy would not "just bounce out and come back" from recession, adding "there is still a lot of stress" among consumers. "It's not a V-shaped recession. This is one that is going to take a sustained change in the way families live." Further key housing data is expected later today when the US government releases the number of new houses being built. The figure jumped by 22pc in February, but Barclays Capital's Dean Maki is forecasting a 6pc fall for March. Economists played down the chances of the US entering deflation, in spite of the consumer price index falling 0.1pc fall in March, meaning consumer prices are now 0.4pc cheaper than a year ago, the first fall in the annual rate since August 1955. White House economic adviser Larry Summers warned that "concern about deflation in the nearer term can be entirely discounted." But many economists took solace in the fact that the core rate of inflation – stripping out food and fuel – rose by 0.2pc last month." Hopefully we'll see some figures coming out shortly to dispell recent UK ramping. HP

Yes, good spot! I love this site! She really is an idiot.

£650k with HSBC instant access (next to no interest) putting the money in multiple accounts to spread the risk is not really an option £12k Cash (in a safety deposit box) This is a disaster waiting to happen. Get that money split into 13 different accounts (you can still average around 2.8% gross or £15k per year before tax.) £12k is far too much cash to hold - bank £10k and make sure the other £2k is in £10 denominations. Personally I think you should buy yourself the largest house you can find (at -20%), a fast car and enjoy your life. HP

Lenders accused of dirty mortgage tricks <H2 class="sub-heading padding-top-5 padding-bottom-15">Complaints over Halifax after claims properties undervalued for remortgage, pushing customers into more expensive deals</H2>http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/money/pro...icle6077635.ece Halifax, Britain’s biggest lender, has been accused of undervaluing customers’ properties when they come to remortgage, forcing them on to more expensive deals. Brokers say borrowers may see as much as 40% wiped off the value of their homes, although prices have fallen by an average 21% from their August 2007 peak, according to Halifax’s own house-price index. The down-valuations mean borrowers no longer qualify for the lender’s best deals. Halifax charges 5.29% for its five-year fix if you have equity of 5% or less, compared with only 3.99% at 25%, a difference of £2,600 a year on a £200,000 interest-only loan. The move comes amid growing evidence that lenders, while claiming to offer competitive deals following government pressure, are in fact imposing sneaky conditions which mean even “good” borrowers do not qualify for the best rates. HSBC said last week it would commit £1 billion in loans to people with deposits of 10%, helping first-times buyers back into the market. This was part of the £15 billion it has already committed to lend this year, and it has previously offered a market-leading fix of 3.99% over five years. However, one Sunday Times reader complained she was rejected, despite having the required 40% equity, because she did not have 75% of the value of her mortgage in savings — £160,000. Neil Avery of Timothy James, an adviser, said: “We’re increasingly finding that what lenders are saying and what they are doing is very different. The outcome implies Halifax is working the property market to its advantage.” Down-valuations Thousands of customers who took out Halifax’s cheap two-year deals immediately before the credit crunch in 2007 are now applying to the bank for a “transfer deal”. However, brokers have been alarmed to see the value of clients’ homes on Halifax’s online valuation system — which is pegged to its house-price index — slashed by tens of thousands of pounds in a matter of days. The bank is then offering existing customers transfer deals at higher rates. Avery cites the case of one client living in a substantial London home. “On Friday their property valuation according to the Halifax’s computer system stood at £1.3m. This was already down 19% on what the client paid for the house two years ago,” he said. “Halifax published its new valuations on Tuesday, just three days later. The house was worth £965,000 — a further correction of 25%. This will mean the couple pay about £290 a month more, or £14,000, over the next four years,” Avery said. Giles and Nikki Holland, of Earlsfield, south-west London (pictured left), also Halifax customers, received an automatic valuation of £400,000 — £100,000 less than the one they were given by their estate agent. The difference will add £2,000 a year to their interest repayments. Avery said: “Halifax boasts of offering relatively good remortgage deals to people who are in negative equity — but it doesn’t say its own valuation system could be pushing people into the red in the first place.” Halifax said: “We take a prudent approach to the use of automatic valuations and they are closely monitored against standard valuations. The model adjusts dynamically, reflecting changes in the market as they happen to ensure the valuation is accurate. Where intermediaries and their clients wish to appeal against the valuation, we will deal with it on a case by case basis.” Bank of Scotland, which is part of Lloyds Banking Group like Halifax, has moved to ban customers who take out popular remortgage deals offering free legal fees and valuations from appealing against valuations altogether. Those who want to have this option have to pay the costs, the lender said. Melanie Bien at Savills Private Finance said: “We feel this will act as a deterrent to borrowers disputing the valuation of their property.” Hidden conditions Katrina Murray, 36, of St John’s Wood, London, was turned down for HSBC’s five-year deal at 3.99% despite having a spotless credit record, the required 40% deposit and £15,000 in savings — because she wanted the deal on an interest-only basis. The bank said she would need 75% of the loan value in savings to qualify — £160,000. HSBC said: “We enforce this very strictly. Those who want to take out an interest-only loan must have a repayment vehicle to support it.” However, Murray said: “Why do they impose this at the last minute and why is it not advertised in their conditions? Who in their right mind would have this amount of savings in this market if they could pay off more of their mortgage sooner? This appalling practice has meant a waste of time and effort for me.” Bien said: “Lenders are increasingly making it more difficult for people to take out loans on an interest-only basis. Whereas during the property bull market they may not have pressed clauses in contracts, such as the need for a repayment vehicle, they are certainly doing so now.” Meanwhile, Nationwide is not allowing existing customers to switch to cheaper fixes even if they are willing to pay the penalty, depriving them of thousands of pounds in savings. For example, in March last year, Nationwide was offering a three-year fix at 5.85%. Today its best deal for three years is 3.98%. A borrower with a £200,000 loan could save £2,485, even after paying a 2% early-repayment penalty and an arrangement fee of £995, if the building society let existing customers move. Richard Morea of L&C, the broker, said: “It is disappointing that Nationwide customers aren’t getting the same opportunity to take advantage of cheaper mortgage rates as customers with other lenders.” ---- mwah mwah mwah.

The BBC ran a story about this at 1pm. They showed an estate agent claiming that house prices had collapsed and were already back to levels seen in the late 90's. They interviewed a young professional who until recently was earning a 6 figure sum. She complained that she had worked hard (sometimes for 8 hours a day...) and would be moving to London unless things picked up. Good luck dear.

classic! Might have to get myself a tee shirt.

Probably waiting for a house sale so that they avoid divide by zero: Value of housing sold -------------------- Number of house sold

If only for this bless them.

I didn't quite hear what he said or what he was implying (he gave two alternatives - both implied rioting.) Any chance of reiterating?) Also, I couldn't believe Blair's "charming" response to the effect of Clown's pension raid - "Gordon didn't explain it to me that way". It was Blair's job to ratify/approve ALL government policies. Where is Blair now? Please lets not forget that he was holding the steering wheel whilst Brown was ruining the economy.

Looks like Blanchflower's calls for lower interest rates were right all along..

And then you really gotta burn it up And make another fly by night Get a run for your money and take a chance And it'll turn out right And when you can see how it's gotta be You're making your mind up

I have to agree with you. Houses are still selling. Just like this one which Mrs HP was keen to offer the asking price for 2 weeks ago: http://www.jackson-stops.co.uk/cgi-bin/pro...pl?propID=33582 Not sure what to do with the spare £95k now that its been reduced to £600k? 911? 2 911s?

King in swipe at FSA and Brown http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbys...-and-Brown.html In comments just hours before Lord Turner presents his report on the regulatory system, Mervyn King said that all regulatory systems around the world, including the UK's light-touch programme, failed to "prevent the accumulation of risks that finally produced the crisis." In a swipe at the Financial Services Authority, which tightened regulations on those opening new current and savings accounts but did not foresee the collapse of Northern Rock, Mr King added: "A system in which it is easier for a large bank to expand and then destroy its balance sheet than for an individual to open a bank account has lost focus." And in what may be seen as a further attack on the Prime Minister, Mr King also urged him to lay out how the Government planned to pay back the mountain of debt it was taking on following its double-headed bail-out of the economy and the banking system. The Bank Governor's speech to bankers at the Mansion House in London on Tuesday night will be taken as another sign that the City must now brace itself for a host of new heavy-handed regulations aimed at preventing future crises from taking place. Lord Turner is expected today to recommend a broad-based overhaul of financial regulation, imposing tighter rules on companies and abandoning the principles-based system championed by Mr Brown. "Banks are dangerous institutions," said Mr King. "They borrow short and lend long. They create liabilities which promise to be liquid and hold few liquid assets themselves." However, regulators failed to devise a system which properly assessed the risks posed by the financial system on the wider economy, he added. "To correct these types of market failure will require a system of regulation that effectively marries the 'top down' assessment of the risks to the system as a whole to the 'bottom up' supervision of individual institutions. The present system has not delivered that." However, although in favour of tighter regulation, Mr King warned that had any regulator attempted to clamp down on bank growth in recent years, it would have been lambasted for apparently attacking success. Mr King said the Bank needed to be given an extra tool alongside interest rates to monitor and influence the financial system - so-called counter-cyclical rules on how banks treat their balance sheets. However, he did not expand on what these tools would constitute. Chancellor Alistair Darling indicated at the G20 summit of finance ministers at the weekend that he would clamp down more heavily on hedge funds and the shadow banking system in the coming years, and his fellow ministers pledged to increase regulation throughout the developed world. However, Mr King said that ministers should avoid rushing into imposing new rules too quickly. "Whatever exuberance – rational or irrational – existed has been destroyed by the crisis. So we have time to reflect before we decide on the shape of a new regulatory system," he said. He said that the Government must now lay out its "exit strategy" for the crisis, explaining how it intends to pay back the hundreds of billions of pounds worth of debt it has incurred, saying: "there needs to be a credible plan for consolidation of deficits and debt in the future contingent on the state of the economy." He added that the Bank would also lay out its plan for reversing the asset purchases it has taken on through quantitative easing.

No bull trap. We saw the bottom last week - its time to invest in the markets and bag some cheap looking stocks with decent divs (covered x3). Future inflationary pressures are good for the market. (not the housing market, and forget gold its going nowhere fast - except down).

The Swiss National Bank has been selling francs.. http://www.reuters.com/article/usDollarRpt...C96514020090312

I've just been on Globrix and it looks as though 100 or so properties have been marked down by between 8 and 12% in the York area over the past couple of days. Anyone else feel as though the market just turned? I think we're going to start seeing large drops in the "asking price" indexes shortly. HP

Mr Maxim from Southsea writes in The Times: Sir, "Quantitative easing" is far too cumbersome a phrase. I suggest that we truncate the phrase into a more manageable term: "Queasing". Much easier to pronounce and carries with it the slightly queasy feeling that one naturally feels when trying to save the economy from imminent collapse. Sign the petition now - http://timesbusiness.typepad.com/money_web...ive-easing.html HP

Tell her you don't mind which - either she passes on your offer, or you'll approach the vendor directly to negotiate a sale privately. I know EA contracts are water tight, but it might get some mileage. HP

Seeing as we are going all Japanese with 0% interest rates, I'd like to know how I can get in on the British version of the Yen carry Trade. How / when can it be done?

They know the banks can't lend money. Giving our money away without at least pretending it was in our interest would have ruined them. Its the public that are the clowns.