Property Investment News » mortgages overseas

This week’s exchange rate news

movechannel — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 13:04:52 +0000

Last week saw a relatively poor performance from the Pound, even though the Bank of England resisted the temptation to use its entire allocation of £150b billion at its meeting on Thursday, leaving £25 billion free for future use…

This, in theory, should have been good news for Sterling – but after a brief rally, expectations of the remaining £25 billion being used in August instead quickly set in, with the Pound falling back accordingly.

This week, Tuesday's UK inflation data is the main data release to look out for. An increase in inflation should be good news if you are sending money abroad, while a lower figure would only be good for those of you bringing money back to the UK, and vice versa.

If you are sending US Dollars overseas, Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons see the major news releases, while in the Eurozone, Wednesday's inflation data and Tuesday's German sentiment survey are likely to be the key drivers for Euro rates.

UK Releases
Monday (overnight) – retail sales and RICS house prices
Tuesday (9.30am) – CPI & RPI inflation figures
Wednesday (9.30am) – unemployment rate for May

Amercian Releases
Tuesday (1.30pm) – PPI inflation and retail sales for June
Wednesday (1.30pm) – CPI inflation
Wednesday (7pm) – minutes from the last FOMC meeting
Thursday (3pm) – manufacturing survey

Eurozone Releases
Monday (11.30am) – ECB President Trichet's speech

Tuesday (9am) – German ZEW economic sentiment
Tuesday (10am) – industrial production data
Wednesday (10am) – CPI inflation

Other Releases
Canada – Monday (1.30pm) – Bank of Canada business outlook survey
Australia – Tuesday (2.30am) – key business confidence data
Switzerland – Wednesday (8.15am) – May retail sales

For more information on international money and the property market in general, please visit http://www.themovechannel.com/money/

-ENDS-

Notes to editors:

TheMoveChannel.com is a property website that was founded in 1999 as an online resource for buying, selling and learning about property. It now receives as many as 300,000 visits per month and advertises over 50,000 properties in nearly 90 countries, which are listed by over 500 partner organisations.

For further information, please contact:

Dan Johnson

Managing Director

www.themovechannel.com

0207 952 7650

Repayments on the rise

movechannel — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 15:41:50 +0000

British homeowners have paid off more of their mortgages than ever before as they rush to take advantage of historically low interest rates – which were held at 0.5 per cent today – and with the number of lender’s deals rising day by day, could this be a sign that the mortgage market is at long last starting to pick up again? TheMoveChannel.com finds out…

Figures released today by the Bank of England have revealed that British homeowners have repaid a whopping £8.1 billion off their mortgages in the first three months of this year – which is the highest level since records began 40 year ago.

This rush to repay is partly due to many homeowners finding their monthly repayments have dropped significantly, thus leaving them with some extra cash in which to plough into paying off chunks of their mortgage capital.

The total repaid over the last year is £76 billion.

Simon Rubinsohn, Chief Economist at the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, said, “I’m not surprised by the figures, given the fall in house prices over the period.”

The recession has reversed the borrowing binge of the last few decades and people are now desperate to reduce their debts rather than live on credit.

It was the fourth quarter in a row of net repayments, which signaled very bad news for retailers as consumer spending has dropped right off – people preferring to pay off their mortgage than to have a blow-out shopping spree.

Ashley Brown of mortgage broker Moneysprite said, “The hedonistic days of living the good life and borrowing against the value of your property are a distant memory.

“Homeowners now recognise that this is the time to batten down the hatches and reduce their debt,” he added.

Number of deals on the increase

Financial information service Moneyfacts has revealed a further slight relaxation in lending by banks and building societies in the past month.

At the beginning of July there were 119 mortgage deals available which asked for only a 10 per cent deposit.

Although far fewer than a year ago, this is up from 101 such deals at the start of last month.

"It is encouraging to see that products available with 90 per cent loan-to-values are creeping up," said Darren Cook of Moneyfacts.

Nationwide Building Society’s decision to allow customers to take out loans worth 125 percent of the value of the homes they are buying shows that lenders are innovating to help borrowers struggling in the UK property market.

The Nationwide deal – which is only available to existing customers in negative equity who want to move house – enables borrowers to take out a loan for 95 per cent of the value of their new house at a fixed rate of 6.73 per cent for three years or 7.48 per cent for five years.

Borrowers would then be able to add on the negative equity from their old home, up to another 30 per cent of the value of the new property, at a higher fixed rate of 7.23 per cent for three years or 7.98 per cent for five years.

For more information on personal finance and mortgages, please visit http://www.themovechannel.com/money/

-ENDS-

Notes to editors:

For further information as well as images and interview possibilities, please contact:

Dan Johnson

Managing Director

www.themovechannel.com

0207 952 7650

Cooking up a cure

movechannel — Fri, 22 May 2009 10:17:13 +0000

‘Thanks but no thanks’ has been the attitude of the Cook Islands to the global downturn – Tourism Minister Wilkie Rasmussen has announced the islands will not be taking part in the recession – and strong growth is indeed being witnessed in visitor numbers…

The Government of the Cook Islands has officially decided not to take part in the worldwide recession, claiming that they are ‘recession free.’

The Cook Islands consist of 15 islands with a total population of around 19,000, scattered over two million square kilometres of the Pacific Ocean.

They lie in the centre of the Polynesian Triangle, flanked to the west by The Kingdom of Tonga and the Samoas and to the east by Tahiti and the islands of French Polynesia.

Tourism makes up a whopping portion of the islands’s GDP – more than 67 per cent – so protecting this lucrative sector from the downturn was vital to the economy.

Despite most other countries facing daily doom and gloom, the Cook Islands have reported sustained bookings and areas of growth in their tourism industry and new operators opening businesses.

They have also started a witty website about their ‘recession free oasis’ with advice on how to ‘avoid recessionary thoughts entering your headspace,’ and ‘how to chill out.’

Air New Zealand Deputy Chief Executive Norm Thompson said that the Cook Islands were the company’s number one Pacific island destination.

“We are seeing strong interest and growth in bookings for flights to the Cook Islands despite slow-downs in other markets,” said Mr Thompson.

Tourism Minister Wilkie Rasmussen announced the Government’s decision not to take part in the recession after the submission was presented to Parliament earlier this month.

“As industries around the world feel the weight of the current economic global recession and the international effects of slowing economies and cautious consumers, the Cook Islands is seeing local businesses grow, new businesses open and offshore investment increase.

“The country is using its financial growth as a marketing tool and inviting people to visit the ‘world's first recession-free oasis.

“Everyone is tired of hearing about the global economic doom and gloom.

“Travellers are now being given the opportunity to escape the recession by coming to a country where it doesn't exist,” Mr Rasmussen added.

And here’s a bit of advice for you from the Cook Island’s ‘recession free oasis’ website: ‘If u detect a recessionary thought approaching, immediately alert a waiter and order a cocktail.’

For more information on international money and the property market in general, please visit http://www.themovechannel.com/money/

-ENDS-

Notes to editors:

For further information, please contact:

Dan Johnson

Managing Director

www.themovechannel.com

0207 952 7650