Not only are mortgage deals becoming fewer in number, the cost to secure one of these deals has gone up by 20% over the past 12 months. Research by the mortgage comparison website mform.co.uk shows that arrangement fees have risen from £738 to £890. Fees on the best buy fixed rate deals are higher still, topping the thousand pound marker. (more…)

News that Taylor Wimpey failed to secure additional funding of some £500m, coupled with having to shed 900 jobs, sent the share price sharply down today. The shares ended the day down 25p (41%) at 35p, with intra-trading lows bottoming at a 57% loss. (more…)

The Bradford & Bingley, Co-operative bank and First Direct have today raised the cost of their fixed rate mortgages as Banks find it increasingly difficult to raise finance to fund mortgage deals. The Co-op saw the biggest rise as they increased their rates between 0.7% and 0.9%. The move by these three banks now takes the average cost of a fixed rate mortgage to over 7%. (more…)

The Nationwide Building Society has raised the cost of its fixed rate mortgage for the second time in two weeks, meaning its two-year fixed rate deal has gone up by 0.5%. The Nationwide is not alone in this move as Woolwich has also raised rates. In fact, the Woolwich plans to pull itw two-year fixed rate range as funds run out. (more…)