UK house price growth halved in April, ONS says

June 18 (Reuters) - British house price growth halved in April, when a hike in property transaction taxes took effect, official data showed on Wednesday.
Annual house price growth cooled to 3.5% from 7.0% in March, the Office for National Statistics said.

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NBC News

an hour ago

• NBC News

Apple sued by shareholders for allegedly overstating AI progress

(Reuters) — Apple was sued on Friday by shareholders in a proposed securities fraud class action that accused it of downplaying how long it needed to integrate advanced artificial intelligence into its Siri voice assistant, hurting iPhone sales and its stock price. The complaint covers shareholders who suffered potentially hundreds of billions of dollars of losses in the year ending June 9, when Apple introduced several features and aesthetic improvements for its products but kept AI changes modest. Apple did not immediately respond to requests for comment. CEO Tim Cook, Chief Financial Officer Kevan Parekh and former CFO Luca Maestri are also defendants in the lawsuit filed in San Francisco federal court. Shareholders led by Eric Tucker said that at its June 2024 Worldwide Developers Conference, Apple led them to believe AI would be a key driver of iPhone 16 devices, when it launched Apple Intelligence to make Siri more powerful and user-friendly. But they said the Cupertino, California-based company lacked a functional prototype of AI-based Siri features, and could not reasonably believe the features would ever be ready for iPhone 16s. Shareholders said the truth began to emerge on March 7 when Apple delayed some Siri upgrades to 2026, and continued through this year's Worldwide Developers Conference on June 9 when Apple's assessment of its AI progress disappointed analysts. Apple shares have lost nearly one-fourth of their value since their December 26, 2024 record high, wiping out approximately $900 billion of market value.

The Sun

an hour ago

• The Sun

How record Florian Wirtz transfer could spark £400m Liverpool overhaul as Arne Slot plots Feyenoord-style transformation

ARNE SLOT spent just £10million last summer on Juventus playmaker Federico Chiesa. But the Liverpool boss — fresh from winning the Premier League title in his debut season — is on a £200m-plus transfer blitz to make sure the Reds blast out of the blocks from day one of pre-season. 6 6 German sensation Florian Wirtz, 22, is the marquee signing for a British-record £116.5m and joins his old Bayer Leverkusen team-mate Jeremie Frimpong — who cost £29.5m — at Anfield. Bournemouth left-back Milos Kerkez is next to make the move to Merseyside after a £40m deal was agreed yesterday, while Valencia's £30m keeper Giorgi Mamardashvili joins on July 1. Slot is also keen on Crystal Palace centre-back Marc Guehi, while Newcastle pair Alexander Isak and Anthony Gordon remain targets in a flurry of summer transfer activity that could see the Kop boss spend another £200m. While rivals Manchester City and Chelsea exert themselves in the sweltering heat of the Club World Cup — which runs until July 13 in the USA — Liverpool are primed to turn up the pressure in the title race when they kick-off the season against Bournemouth on August 15. Playmaker Wirtz is the headline act in Slot's revolution — one the Dutchman has been plotting over the last 12 months. Slot, 46, paid tribute to predecessor Jurgen Klopp when he lifted a record-equalling 20th league title in front of an adoring Kop back in May. But the former Feyenoord boss clearly felt he inherited a squad that needed a complete makeover in tactics and personnel. 6 Slot saved his money and waited while winning the hearts and minds of a doubting red half of Merseyside — as well as players, who were unsure of what would come next. At the same time he was identifying who he wanted — and who he didn't. Andy Robertson, Kostas Tsimikas, Jarrel Quansah — almost certain to leave for Leverkusen — Joe Gomez, Harvey Elliott and Darwin Nunez could all be out this summer. Of course, Slot had been here before. After his first season in charge of Feyenoord, in 2021-22, he instigated massive changes. He moved on 16 players, including £12.9m Tyrell Malacia to Manchester United and Luis Sinisterra, who was sold to Leeds for £25m, while 11 were either let go or sent out on loan. Meanwhile, for around £35m — far less than the mammoth budget he is now armed with — 15 were brought in. Slot lifted the Eredivisie title in 2023 and the Dutch Cup last year before making his way to Anfield. And changes were made as he got his feet under the table, although none of them suggested how seismic they would become. Klopp's 'heavy metal football' morphed into far more controlled and muted melodies, the beat about possession, not frantic assault. Ryan Gravenberch and Alexis Mac Allister went to double-bass, the pair redeployed from attacking roles to holding midfielders. Trent Alexander-Arnold no longer busked away from his right-back spot so often, Nunez was made a third string, Dominik Szoboszlai moved into a more free–flowing, attacking role, much of it to enable Mo Salah to play all that jazz and become the Football Writers' Association and Prem Player of the Year. 6 6 Slot got the band playing to a more sophisticated rhythm and turned them into a No 1 hit. The campaign morphed into what seemed a perfect symphony but as Liverpool's summer splurge shows, with Wirtz coming in as the conductor of a new orchestra, it was really only the opening overture. Now comes what Slot will hope will be the creation of his very own work of art, led by 5ft 10in Wirtz, who many believe is becoming one of the great maestros of the game. He arrives as a generational talent who not only creates but scores — 44 goal contributions across the last two Bundesliga campaigns, including 21 goals and a league-high of 23 assists. Wirtz's figures are the second most of any player aged under 23 in Europe's top-five leagues, just behind Chelsea's Cole Palmer. Last season, for the second in a row, he was one of just six players to reach double figures for goals and assists in Europe's big-five leagues. Wirtz is his own one–man band. He is almost faultless with both feet and waltzes past defenders because he is so difficult to predict. Over the last two years he attempted a Bundesliga-high of 313 take-ons. And just Barcelona's Lamine Yamal (231), West Ham's Mohammed Kudus (216) and Manchester City's Jeremy Doku (203) completed more than his 161 dribbles in that same time frame in Europe's top five leagues. Wirtz created 124 chances from open play in that period, a figure bettered only by Salah (150), Arsenal skipper Martin Odegaard (139), Manchester United's captain Bruno Fernandes (137) and Chelsea's Palmer (134).

Times

an hour ago

• Times

Are interest-only mortgages too risky for first-time buyers?

Interest-only mortgages are to become an option for most first-time buyers for the first time since the financial crisis. From Monday Gen H, which specialises in loans for first-time buyers, is offering interest-only deals for those with at least a 20 per cent deposit and a minimum income of £50,000. Buyers will need to demonstrate how they will repay the loan, for example by showing that they can save the difference between the monthly costs of a repayment mortgage and their interest-only payments. Gen H will also lend to first-time buyers with as little as 5 per cent deposit on a part interest-only, part repayment basis. Many lenders have started making it easier for first-time buyers to borrow, with some lending up to seven times salary, instead of the standard limit of 4.5 times. But, in an uncertain market, with house prices stagnant in many areas, could this all be too risky? A shove up the ladder Research by the Building Societies Association (BSA), a trade body, suggests that there are 2.2 million 'missing' first-time buyers who should have bought since the financial crisis but have been unable to, either because they have struggled to save a deposit or can't borrow enough. To fill this gap, the government, as part of its drive for economic growth and increased homeownership, has prompted the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the City regulator, to lean on banks and relax the lending rules. In the past three months, almost all high street banks have reduced the interest rate at which they 'stress test' borrowers, to see if they could afford payments if rates went up dramatically. Borrowers can now also find more loans at 100 per cent loan-to-value (LTV), where you borrow what the property is worth, without a deposit — another fixture of the pre-2008 mortgage Building Society offers five-year mortgage deals to those with less than a 5 per cent deposit who can prove they have been paying rent at the same level as mortgage repayments for two years. April Mortgages, which began lending in the UK last year, has a no-deposit deal for those with a household income of at least £24,000 who are happy to fix for ten or 15 years. And the ratio of debt to income is being relaxed, with April Mortgages lending up to seven times a borrower's income on its ten or 15-year fixed-rate deals, provided they have at least a 15 per cent deposit. Skipton will lend 5.5 times a buyer's salary if they have an income of £50,000 — up from . £100,000. The downside While lenders have been praised for finding innovative ways to get more people onto the property ladder, concerns have been raised that making it easier to borrow will simply push house prices up, leaving first-time buyers having to find bigger deposits and take on even greater debt. The estate agency Savills estimated that a 1.25 percentage point reduction in stress rates by high street lenders could increase first-time buyer sales 24 per cent over the next five years, but could also push up prices between 5 and 7.5 per cent. That could be a problem when buyers are already stretching themselves. Some 7 per cent of new mortgages were at 90-95 per cent LTV in the first three months of the year, their highest share since 2008, according to the FCA. And while mortgage rates have fallen over the past year, first-time buyers are spending a bigger chunk of their cash on repayments. In March they spent an average of 22.6 per cent of income on their mortgage, the highest proportion since November 2008, according to UK Finance, a banking industry body. 'I'm nervous,' said Neal Hudson from the property data firm Residential Analysts. 'There are good reasons for a bit more flexibility but I fear that lenders and the government are going too far. Now that rates are falling, that saving is being used to push up house prices rather than reducing repayments. That's not good.' Paul Broadhead from the BSA said the return of part repayment and part interest-only loans could be popular because they 'provide a lower deposit threshold but also help affordability, which we know are the two important barriers for first-time buyers'. Critics, however, believe that interest-only loans should remain limited to those with more equity and assets. Martin Stewart from the mortgage broker London Money said: 'Let's not forget that interest-only was one of the significant contributors to the crash in 2008, along with pushes for higher loan-to-value lending and excessive income multiples. Throwing all these things together to limp the housing market forward feels like a dangerous game.' How the interest-only deal works The Gen H interest-only mortgage rates will start at 5.09 per cent for a two-year fix at up to a 60 per cent LTV, with a £1,499 fee, and 5.33 per cent for a five-year fix with the same maximum LTV and fee. For comparison, the best two-year fix for a standard repayment mortgage at 60 per cent LTV is 3.95 per cent and 3.99 per cent for a five-year deal. For those with only the minimum 20 per cent deposit (80 per cent LTV) the two-year fixed rate is 5.44 per cent. For a five-year fix it is 5.38 per cent. In time, Gen H plans to make interest-only deals available to those whose parents can support them by using their investments, buy-to-let property or pension pot as the initial repayment strategy for the loan, which could change if their child was later able switch to a repayment deal. Peter Dockar from Gen H said: 'Interest-only mortgages have long been pigeon-holed as a tool for the rich. But we believe they could fill important gaps for first-time buyers and households on average incomes too. In this landscape, buyers need all the help they can get. We all need to consider how familiar tools might be used in new ways to benefit more people.' Why interest-only became rare Interest-only mortgages were common before the financial crisis, when buyers could get larger loans with few questions about how they planned to repay them. At their peak in 2007 some 51 per cent of new mortgages were either fully or partially interest-only, according to the FCA. House prices fell about 20 per cent between 2007 and 2009 during the financial crisis. This led to mortgage rules being tightened in 2014, making it harder to get interest-only deals and forcing lenders to be much stricter about repayment methods. At the end of last year the total number of home loans on an interest-only basis was 541,000, down from 963,000 in 2012, according to the trade association UK Finance. Only 8.7 per cent of new mortgages in the first three months of 2025 were fully or partially interest-only. Interest-only loans have tended to be limited to wealthier borrowers with more equity. Applicants normally need to earn at least £75,000 a year (or a total of £100,000 on a joint application) and have a 25 per cent deposit and proof of how they will repay the loan. They can only use the sale of their main home as a repayment strategy if there will be enough equity afterwards to buy somewhere else. This has made them largely inaccessible for first-time buyers — lenders including Nationwide Building Society will not give them interest-only mortgages at all. Gen H said buyers would be able to list downsizing as a repayment strategy provided that the interest-only portion of their loan was capped at 60 per cent LTV, and that they would have at least £200,000 in equity (£300,000 in London) after repaying the interest-only mortgage. This would be based on their initial deposit and the capital repayment portion of their loan, and would not assume a future rise in house prices. Other options available Paul Barnes, 40, and James Hope, 36, expected to be saving for another five years to buy their first home in Cambridge — until they found out about an unusual scheme from Cambridge Building Society. Rent to Home offered buyers the chance to enter a ballot, where they could rent a property from the building society for up to three years, after which they could get back 70 per cent of what they had paid in rent to use as a house deposit, as long as they took out their mortgage with the building society. The couple won their chance in 2023: 'We were actually hesitant when we got the call because we thought there must be a catch,' said Barnes, who works for an exam board. 'Cambridge is its own little bubble and it is quite an expensive and competitive market.' They moved into a four-bedroom townhouse in Longstanton, near Cambridge, paying rent of £1,450 a month. It means that after three years they could get about £36,500 back as a deposit. The couple are now two years in and hope that they will own their home by next summer. 'I can't believe schemes like this aren't widely available. It's a massive opportunity for people like us, who might otherwise be struggling to get a foot on the housing ladder due to the cost of living and fierce rental market,' said Hope, who works for the Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute.