Sales of property with values over GBP1 million went up by 36 percent in 2007 compared with the previous year according to Halifax data.
There were over 8,250 sales of million pound plus properties, with over three quarters of them being in the south east of England and London. The largest increase in sales of million pound properties was in Scotland, where the measured increase by the Halifax was 138 percent. This was followed closely by the north east of England, with a 136 percent increase.
The south east has always had strong property values, said a Halifax representative, so it is not surprising to see it heading the number of sales list. It is also notable that rising property prices nationwide have driven up these type of sales further afield.
Special Summer offers have been announced by the Co-op, better known in financial circles as CIS. Their key offer is on a three year tracker mortgage that is only available to CIS current account holders.
The first thing to notice is the sub 6 percent interest rate – 5.99 percent when customers can provide a 25 percent deposit. There is also no fee on this particular mortgage, something that is refreshing in the mortgage market of today. Customers will also be pleased to see that there are no legal fees and remortgage customers can also receive a free property valuation.
There is great flexibility in this CIS mortgage too, with the option to overpay and thus reduce the total repayment term and interest. Payment holidays are also available to help customers manage their expenditure from time to time.
The Abbey National announced rate cuts on some of its mortgage products at the weekend as well as bringing out two new fixed rate mortgage offers.
Some of the Abbey National two year tracker mortgages have seen rate reductions of up to 0.2 percent, with the lowest introductory rate now standing at 6.04 percent. One of the new mortgages offered by the Abbey is a 10 year fixed rate mortgage, with a lowest rate available of 6.25 percent.
An Abbey National spokesman explained that it was the strength the big high street name had in the mortgage market that made these rate cuts possible. The bank also feels that the 10 year fixed rate mortgage is going to prove very popular, combining as it does an attractive interest rate and a long fixed term period.
