Home movers fuel spike in mortgage borrowing as prices rise
A record proportion of mortgage borrowing in the first three months of the year was fuelled by home movers as the ‘race for space’ hotted up.
The Financial Conduct Authority said this group accounted for 42% of total mortgage lending – the highest proportion since records began in 2007.
The full costs of raising children surprise many.
Moving out of your parents’ home for the first time, stepping onto the property ladder, getting married, and deciding to start a family are each big life events.
You’ll likely crunch some numbers when considering any of them but when it comes to starting a family, it’s more opaque, more emotive and more expensive.
UK homeowners borrowed a record £11.8 billion more on mortgages than they repaid in March 2021.
Figures from the Bank of England showed the net-borrowing level was the highest of any comparable month since records began in April 1993.
The previous record of £10.4bn was set in October 2006.
Is it time to tidy up your finances this spring?
With spring in the air and the 2021/22 financial year just a month old, there’s no better time to take stock of your financial arrangements and see how they’re working for you. Of course, you can check your direct debits or standing orders and cancel any you no longer use. You can switch energy providers or even share your Netflix account.
The number of people seeking to divorce their spouses boomed last year, with many couples forced to spend long amounts of time with their partners during various coronavirus restrictions.
Indeed, those googling Citizens’ Advice divorce guidance increased sharply since last April, during the first national lockdown, and rose by 25% year-on-year in September 2020.