Capital Economics predicts that house prices could crash to even lower levels in the new year.
The market could fall by 35% of its 2007 value, the organisation said.
The fall, however, could help as bargain-hunting boosts transactions.
This, in turn, could help increase confidence and the availability of affordable remortgage deals.

New research from financial data provider Defaqto shows that many home owners are paying £2,000 per year extra on their mortgage as lenders have not passed on rate cuts.
The Bank of England made several cuts to the base rate in late 2008, but lenders have refused to pass these cuts on in full.
Northern Rock has [...]

David Black, principal consultant at finance data provider Defaqto, claimed yesterday that standard variable rates have had a greater effect on mortgage customers throughout 2008.
This is because suitable remortgage deals have become more difficult to find due to the global recession.
Mr Black said that SVRs had taken on “a much greater significance than in previous [...]

Alliance and Leicester (A&L) announced a range of fixed rate and tracker mortgage products on 23rd December.
The lender offers remortgage customers a refunded valuation and free legals or £200 cashback on all products.
Fixed rate mortgage deals include one with a rate of 3.99%, 60% LTV, over a  two year fixed period, with a fee of [...]

The British Bankers’ Association announced in late December that the number of mortgages granted to new borrowers in November hit a record slump.
The number of mortgage deals granted fell by nearly two thirds from October to November; only 17,773 mortgages for new house purchases were approved during the month.
The BBA said that it was not [...]

Research from price comparison website USwitch.com has revealed that two million UK homeowners are considering mortgage payment holidays.
Despite the government’s promise to defer interest payments on mortgages for up to two years, some borrowers, who have struggled to remortgage, are being forced to take action now.
The research suggests that mortgage payment holidays on this scale [...]

The Financial Services Authority has issued official warnings to borrowers not to deal with a named Welsh company.
Pure-Money.co.uk is not registered or regulated by the FSA, and due to this, the watchdog said, is liable to face criminal prosecutions.
The FSA advised consumers not to mortgage, remortgage or invest in Pure-Money, which is based in Rhyl.

Borrowers struggling to find a good mortgage or remortgage deal may be pleased to know that Nationwide has reintroduced 95% LTV mortgages to its products on offer.
Since the credit crunch, borrowing more than 60% of the value of a property has been difficult.
The deal, however, comes with a 7.18% interest rate for two years, making it more [...]

The Association of Mortgage Intermediaries announced today that business is beginning to pick up again for mortgage brokers.
In September, only half of mortgage brokers were able to assist clients as lenders were offering the best mortgage and remortgage deals directly to customers.
Since September, the 50% of mortgage brokers unable to assist customers has decreased to [...]

New research from the Bank of England, entitled “The Financial Position of British Households”, was released today.
The report was composed from 2,400 interviews with families between September and October.
The research found that 15% of interviewees who had attempted to find a remortgage deal recently had faced a struggle to do so.
10% of families were finding [...]