Although it was reported this morning on BBC News that mortgage lending rose in November 2010, Melanie Bien, director of broker Private Finance, told MSN Money today: "There will be some great buying opportunities in 2011, but the problem will be securing the mortgage finance to do it, as the lending market is likely to tighten further."

This echoes the recent warning from the CML that a critical new era of even tighter lending will be ramped up in the spring.

"From April onwards, lenders will have to repay the funding advanced through official support schemes," a CML spokesman said.

According to reports on MSN today, Halifax, interest rates are likely to remain very low for some time, and they predict no more than one rise to the Bank of England base rate in 2011.

"This will underpin the favourable affordability position for those able to enter the market," said Halifax's Martin Ellis. "The low interest rate environment has reduced the burden of servicing mortgage debt. Typical mortgage payments for a new borrower have fallen from a peak of 48% of average disposable earnings in mid-2007 to around 30% now, which is an important factor supporting housing demand."

The

With the property market still weak and house prices expected to fall further in 2011, many commentators are claiming this could be the year to bag a property bargain. New research from the Building Societies Association (BSA) shows that public opinion about buying property in 2011 is positive. According to the findings, nearly two-thirds of us would buy immediately or within the next year, given sufficient money. But while low interest rates and competitive property prices may be tempting you to dip a toe back into the market, is this really the right time to buy?

Should you cash in on

Research released today as indicated that First-time buyers are having to find average deposits of nearly £29,000 in order to get on to the property ladder.

The typical first-time buyer put down a deposit of £28,770 during 2010 - the equivalent of 21% of the value of the home they were buying, according to mortgage lender Halifax. The figure is nearly three times the typical deposit of £9,865 saved by people buying their first home in 2000.

The situation is even worse for first-time buyers in London, who had to find deposits of just over £56,000, while those in the South East had to save

We wish you a merry christmas

We wish you a merry christmas

We WISH you a merry christmas

And a HAPPY NEW YEAR!

The UKAL team will be signing off for a few days over the festive period, however our dedicated PA's will be on call 24/7 for anyone needing to speak with us urgently.  We hope that you all have a fun filled Xmas and a healthy and prosperous 2011!

As another year draws to a close, one of our auction partners, Mark Willett from Goldings reports on a few statistics from what has been their most successful auction yet:

Total value of property sold - £7.8 million Average sale price - £102,335 Percentage of lots entered sold – 93%

We look forward to working with them even more next year and wish all our auction partners a Happy Christmas and successful 2011!  

Housing Minister Grant Shapps has launched a new national crackdown on tenancy cheats who unlawfully sublet their council or housing association properties and deny homes to people who really need them.

At least 50,000 social homes in England are being unlawfully occupied - providing the equivalent number of new social homes would cost more than £5 billion, and it is estimated that the number of unlawfully occupied properties ranges from one in 100 in some parts of the country to more than one in 20 social homes in some inner London boroughs.

Tenancy cheats live elsewhere, but can earn

Andrews and Robertson raised almost £11m at its December 13 auction passing the £120m mark for the year as revenues rose from £97m in 2009 to £124m in 2010. Notable December sales include: — A portfolio of LPA receiverships well located in North London areas of Hackney, Tottenham, Stamford Hill and Haringey raised £1,882m off total guide prices of £1.69m. — 11 properties offered for Southwark Council producing just over £2.025m from a collective guide of £1.980m. — Seven homes sold for just over £1.697m for Lambeth Council from a collective guide of £1.45m. They included a double

Demand from buyers increased in November, according to the latest figures from the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA).

The association’s monthly housing market report found that the average estate agent branch had 241 house hunters registered in November. In October the figure was 218.

The report also found that sales levels remained constant for the fourth month in a row, with the average branch selling seven properties. This was particularly positive as the market is entering its annual seasonal slowdown, when activity traditionally slows.

However despite this evidence that

The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has kept UK interest rates on hold at 0.5%, and unveiled no new quantitative easing (QE) measures.