Spectator money

Property news has dominated the financial headlines this week and today is no exception. On the front page of The Times is an exclusive story revealing that Britain’s biggest mortgage lender has decided to increase its age limit from 75 to 80 as it adapts to an ageing population. The change will be introduced by the Halifax next week in response to shifting ‘demographics and working habits’. It means that for new applications the mortgage term will be allowed to run until the borrower’s 80th birthday. Scottish Widows, which is also owned by Lloyds Banking Group, will bring in the same rule. At present only building societies lend to people over 75.

It’s official. I’m a grown up. I have a baby on the way and my husband and I have just ordered a new family car. We checked it had the Isofix car seat fitting system, selected the window blind option for the rear seats and made sure that our travel system (which seems to be the new name for a pram) fitted comfortably in the boot. The make and model we’ve gone for is a bit of a step-up from the 11-year old Ford Focus we’ve been tearing about in for the past six years, so rather than wipe out our entire cash reserves we decided to go for a

Are women sleepwalking into a retirement nightmare? That’s the suggestion behind new research published by investment group Fidelity. It revealed that while women’s average retirement income is likely to be around £5,000 less than men, almost twice as many women have no idea about their pension pot or its payout. It’s not the first time similar worrying research has been published. Last year Scottish Widows reported that women save 38 per cent less than men and that the gap that has been getting wider in recent years. More worryingly, 21 per cent of women have no pension savings at all, compared with just 9 per cent of men, reckoned Prudential.

If you’re a parent then today’s housing news may come as little surprise: the ‘bank of mum and dad’ is now the equivalent of a top ten mortgage lender in the UK. Research by Legal & General and the Centre for Economics and Business Research has found that parents helping their children on to the property ladder have become such a crucial part of the housing market that they will be involved in a quarter of all property transactions this year. Rising house prices, years without real-terms wage rises, a shortage of supply and tougher mortgage regulations since the financial crisis have made it difficult for first-time buyers to get on the ladder.

April is traditionally a squally month; it seems that there’s a shadow over our confidence as well. The Guardian reports a survey from market researchers GfK which shows that Britons have lost faith when it comes to personal finance, the UK economy and shelling out on big investments. The index was showing 0 in March, but for April has dropped to -3, down seven points from last year. There can be no sweeter feeling that putting your hand in the pocket of a long-neglected coat and feeling your fingers brush against a crisp banknote. But we’re stashing our cash in more and more bizarre places, according to the Daily Mail

Asda shoppers need to be careful when picking up a so-called bargain from the supermarket giant’s shelves: the chain has been warned by the Competition and Markets Authority not to mislead customers with ‘confusing price promotions’ according to the BBC. From now on, multi-buy offers will represent better value than single-buy, and ‘was’ prices will have to be on the shelf longer than ‘now’ prices. Richard Lloyd, of Which? magazine, which investigated the supermarket, said ‘Asda has been found breaking the rules and now must immediately clean up their act.’ The Guardian reports that Britain’s growth will have slowed in the last quarter from 0.6 per cent to 0.4 per

The Equity Release Council is rubbing its hands with glee this morning. Its latest figures reveal £393.9 million was lent over the first three months of the year, making it the best first quarter on record. But it seems to me that this is no cause for celebration. Equity release – or a lifetime mortgage – is somewhat of an extreme form of secured borrowing. It enables over-55s to borrow money against equity they have in their home and the cash can be used for any purpose the borrower likes, such as home improvements, holidays, new cars or helping their family. Typically there’s no interest to pay upfront but instead

Ah, the put-upon motorist. Fees to park outside your own house, potholes littering the streets, road tax, MOTs, and the biggest liability of all: insurance. Last year insurance premiums soared by 14 per cent. That’s an £81 increase in just 12 months, bringing the average annual comprehensive car insurance policy to £671, according to Confused.com. Analysis by the price comparison site found that every single region in the UK saw double-digit annual price increases in their car insurance costs over the past year. And that’s just the average. Last time I renewed my car insurance, my existing insurer quoted around £1,500, more than double what I was previously paying. I drive a

Mortgage Freedom Day. It has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it? Think about that for a second. Mortgage. Freedom. Day. Well, if you’re a new borrower, then today’s the day. According to Halifax, April 19 is when you’ll have earned enough to pay off the annual cost of your mortgage. It works like this: based on the average annual mortgage repayment cost of £7,584 and the average net annual income of £26,023, Halifax has calculated that homeowners who took out a mortgage in the last three months of 2015 will have now earned enough on average to cover their mortgage payments for the rest of 2016. It is worked out

Over the past year you may have heard about a ‘war’ being waged against the buy-to-let market. This could not be further from the truth – a war requires both sides to fight. Instead, at a time when politicians and regulators are pointing their swords at buy-to-let, banks are using theirs to hack away at their prices in a desperate attempt to keep a wounded market alive. The three months to 1 April saw a mad rush of activity, with landlords desperate to avoid being clobbered by increased stamp duty rates. Unsurprisingly, mortgage brokers are reporting a 10-15 per cent drop in the number of loans since. This has clearly panicked the