Is It the Right Time to Sell Your Home?

With the UK housing market riding higher than it has in years, this week on the Kiran Trivedi blog I ask whether it is the right time to sell your home.

The Rise and Rise of the UK Housing Market

The housing market’s a world away from where it was a few years ago in the wake of the financial crash. The UK’s astounding economic recovery, along with government schemes like ‘Help to Buy,’ have persuaded people to let go of their reservations and jump back on the property ladder.

And the figures certainly back it up. According to data from HM Revenues and Customs (HMRC), home sales are rising. Specifically, HMRC has noted that a total of 100,360 homes were sold in May, up from 95,600 in April; hitting their highest level of 2014 so far.

Mortgage Approvals Are Down… Again

So more homes sold logically suggests more people are buying; but is this set to continue. Not according to the British Bankers Association (BBA). Last week, the BBC reported that the BBA suggested that the "heat is coming out of the housing market."

The Association argued that despite the record number of current house sales, mortgage approvals – an indicator of the trajectory of the housing market – were down. Specifically, mortgage approvals slumped to 65,132 in May, down for the fourth consecutive month, and measured 3.5% lower in total than in the same month of last year.

The Mortgage Market Reviews Are making it Harder to Buy Homes

Chief economist at the BBA, Richard Woolhouse, attributed dropping mortgage approval figures to the introduction of Mortgage Market Reviews; new affordability tests for home loan applicants.

Woolhouse argued that: "These are the first mortgage approval figures we have seen since the introduction of the Mortgage Market Review, so it is significant they have fallen for the fourth month in a row."

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Mobile Banking Has Officially Arrived

New figures suggest that mobile banking has arrived, and it has done so in style. How popular is this new method of handling your finances and how can you protect yourself so that you can mobile bank with the peace of mind that you won’t be targeted by fraudsters?

It’s hardly a surprise that mobile banking has become so popular. Smartphones are everywhere, and in today’s world, you can’t turn a corner without seeing someone with a device in hand. It’s simply a matter of convenience. However what surprised me, Kiran Trivedi readers, is just how pervasive mobile banking has become throughout society.

According to the British Bankers Association (BBA), the major organisation for the UK banking industry heavyweights, mobile banking has doubled within the space of a year. Considering the number of people already using this option, it’s a substantial jump.

The BBA has found that 5.7 million transactions a day are now made to banks via smartphones. Anthony Browne, Chief Executive of the BBS, commented that the figures are indicative of “an amazing revolution in the way people are banking," to the BBC.

Browne further went on to explain this boom in mobile banking. He said to the BBC that "the reason why it [mobile banking] has grown so much is just that it's a lot more flexible," and that "it's driven by customers - they can do it any time of day or night. You can pay a bill while at the pub - that sort of thing."

Browne is right, it really is a matter of flexibility, however this flexibility comes with a cost, and that cost is security. Think of how easy it would be for someone to steal your phone at the pub and gain access to your banking information. They could do untold damage. So how do you protect yourself from this sort of fraud?

It’s the same as in normal banking really… protect your information. Make sure that your phone is password locked at all times, don’t save your banking information on your phone etc. This is the only way that you can make sure that should the worst happen, and your phone is stolen; they can’t actually use it to steal your money.

This reminds us all Kiran Trivedi readers how important it is to protect your financial information, whatever system of banking we use. Remember that you’re only ever a step away from a fraudster; don’t leave yourself unprotected.

LINK TO INFO: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-26816148

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