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The Chancellor Alistair Darling promised £20 billion in home loans to boost the housing market in the recent budget. A further £50 billion was pledged to guarantee loans between banks and to get credit moving. He said that the Government intends to encourage an increase in mortgage lending and that we should see an increase in the number of mortgage deals available.

The freeze on stamp duty for homes worth under £175,000 will continue until the end of the year. This should mean that 60% of homebuyers would not have to pay stamp duty. However the National Association of Estate Agents spokesperson said that this had been a missed opportunity to get rid of the tax all together.

Sales of houses in the UK rose by 40% in March from previous figures in February, according to figures from HM Revenue & Customs

In March there were 60000 sales, compared with just 43000 in February. It is suggested that the figures indicate that the slump in house sales in the last year and a half may becoming to an end. There is normally a jump in house sales at this time of the year, but even after adjusting the figures for seasonal trend they still show a rise of 54000 to 61000 sales - a jump of 13%

The Bank of England’s latest data also shows that mortgage approvals have been rising steadily since February, after a 6 month period of stagnation.

There is good new for first time buyers this week as HSBC announce new deals with deposits as low as 10%. Experts hope that other lenders will begin to compete. These deals have not been around since Autumn 2007 when the best offers started to dry up.

The new deals are not amazing when compared to deals in the past but they are the first affordable loans for first time buyers for some time. With a 10% deposit a borrower could take out a two year fixed rate deal at 4.99%. There is an arrangement fee of £1,499. A tracker mortgage with a current rate of 4.59% has an arrangement fee of £999.

Homeowners with savings earning very low rates of interest could save themselves a lot of money by using their savings and current accounts to cut mortgage bills.

Offset loans have traditionally been more expensive in the UK although they have always been popular in other countries. With an offset deal borrowers set their savings and current accounts against their mortgage.

Northern Rock has announced plans to pump £14billion into the UK mortgage market over the next two years.

The bank which was nationalised last year has not been offering deals to new borrowers and because of poor rates existing borrowers have been remortgaging elsewhere. The Government has said that Northern Rock will not be handing out 100% mortgages as it did in the past.

A 10% deposit was the average for a first time buyer 18 months ago. However the criteria for getting a good loan deal has changed dramatically. Most Lenders now require a 40% deposit for the best deals. A 25% deposit will get you a slightly more expensive deal .A mortgage with only a 10% deposit will be more difficult to find.

It is a buyers market and first time buyers came snap up a good bargain with the right deposit. Surveyors say that property prices have fallen by a fifth and in some areas property values have fallen by more than a third.

Homeowners facing repossession or needing to release cash in a hurry are being warned against firms promising a quick sale and the chance to rent back their home once sold writes Holly Thomas in the Daily Express

Experts are concerned that some people facing repossession are not receiving the correct advice as sale and rent back schemes are not regulated.
It is vital that homeowners with financial problems talk to their lender and consult an Independent Financial Advisor.