There is currently an ever increasing need for emphasis on green ideas and principles, now it seems that the financial world is also taking note.

There have recently been launched onto the market a number of ‘green’ mortgages whose aim is to provide a more environmentally friendly approach to home financing. These mortgage products are still few and far between and most mortgage lenders do not have even a mention of green financing in their financial product line.

But how can home financing be green? And how do these options differ?

The first kind of green mortgage is one that only gives funding to properties that match their green criteria. Unlike most mortgage lenders, where as long as people have the ability to pay back the cash, they do not ask exactly what kind of house the money will be spent. Ecological mortgage lenders such as the Ecology Building Society will check if the house or housing project has a sound case for being or becoming green. The focus would be on the usage of eco-friendly methods, either something as simple as using renewable sources to more complex and expensive things such as carbon neutral heating or electrical systems.

The other way that a mortgage lender can be green, is by using the money that is put into the mortgage to invest in green products or developments elsewhere, such as reforestation or green tech projects, especially in the developing world. This thereby cuts down the carbon footprint of that individual household by around 1/5.

Other options also include merely selecting a mortgage company with greener objectives outside of their mortgage products such as reducing their overall carbon footprint in their day to day operations.

Buying a house abroad can make sense for many people. Though the reasons for moving abroad vary one thing remains constant; all of those who have not built up a large sum of capital will need to take out a mortgage to cover the costs.
The following steps may aid the home owner when first setting out to obtain an overseas mortgage.

Firstly, research research research. While most banks and mortgage companies operate on the same basis there are obviously some differences with obtaining a mortgage for an overseas purchase. It pays to make oneself aware of all the options available.

Locally Sourced Mortgages

One option could include sourcing a mortgage in the locale rather from your home country, especially if the language is the same (thereby avoiding messy translations and legal fees and possible future problems). The main advantages of using this approach is that you can most likely save money compared with an international mortgage compared with the following approaches.
Some international banks and lenders specialise in provided locally sourced mortgages as they have connections with the country in question. For example the Abbey National Building Society in the UK are part of the Spanish banking firm Santander meaning they maybe could offer some attractive rates as they cut out a middle man. It might also pay to look into countries that share special relationships.

International Mortgages

International mortgages are the same as a normal mortgage, however they usually specify smaller loan amounts and larger deposits, as well as require some form of existing equity, usually in the form of an existing un-mortgaged or minimally mortgaged property.
These mortgages are good for simplicity, however the service will most likely cost more as a result.

Other Options

An increasingly popular choice for those investing in property abroad to capitalise on the increase in the equity of their property is an equity release remortgaging option. In many cases refinancing even just 25% of a home in the UK or other strong housing market could yield enough to buy a property in another country outright.
The last option is for those who are expatriated and as such no longer a ‘native’. Due to some of the legal ramifications of holding dual nationalities some companies specialising in expat mortgages may offer some interesting solutions.

According to a recent report from the Bank of England, some home owners are now up to £200 a month better off in relation to their mortgage payments. The study was conducted on 2000 people with overall savings shown to average out at around £130 with a quarter up to £200.

The reasons for this may be in-part because of recent influx of money to support home owners has been paid into the market in the form of a policy known as ‘quantative easing’ which essentially translates to a direct injection of liquidity into the money markets to enable a greater flow of lending and spending power which, in turn, drives the economy forward.
It has led to more money being available for lenders; this enables them to offer lower mortgage rates than they would otherwise be able to in the current fiscal crisis, which is a boon for those individuals currently on variable rate or tracker mortgages.

The situation is also helped by the record low interest rate of 0.5% set by the bank of England to control inflation. The Libor index, which controls variable rate mortgage lending rates, is also down to around 0.6 percent.

While this is good news for those on variable rate mortgages it isn’t for those on a fixed rate, who may be paying rates of up to 4-5%.While fixed rate mortgage rates have also been lowered to about 3.5% recently that isn’t much help for those who signed a deal before this lowering. Depending upon deals that signed.

However while this report is positive for many, one should look at the continuing habits of the banks to only loan to those with perfect credit and able to put down hefty deposits, this obviously allows lower rates and therefore lower payments so the truth of the matter may not be that the majority of households are truly saving money, it is just those that are paying are those who have the financial flexibility to push down prices.

One of the thinnest houses on the UK housing market went on sale recently on Goldhawk road in Shepards Bush, London.

The house measures in at just about 66 inches wide( 2 metres) , has four floors and an idyllic back yard, which are immaculately fitted out and its good transportation and shopping links make it a good commuter property for a certain individual, however each floors’ narrow width essentially means each floor equals one room. The bedroom is barely big enough to squeeze in a double bed.

The amazing thing about this property however is not just its dimensions, but also its price. The house is valued at £550,000, making it one of the most expensive 4 roomed properties currently on the market, not just in the UK but also the world. Strangely this price is higher than the asking price when bought in the housing boom 3 years ago, some $61,000 higher.

This house, while unique in appearance (and taking into account the notoriously high prices of the London area), is a clear show that house prices are set to increase higher and higher into the next year. Huge demand, especially on the London markets is leading to a squeeze on the prices in the housing markets.

The demand in London stems from a lack of supply as home owners who might otherwise be selling are hanging on to their homes in fear that they will not get a good price for their asset and also because they may run a risk of not having any new place to move into. Market professionals expect that the New Year may bring a freeing up in the market where many people wish to sell up, but as to whether demand will be met remains still to be seen.

First time buyers in the UK already face a formidable obstacle getting on the property ladder. While house prices are at the lowest they have been for almost a decade the future still looks bleak for young professionals and couples looking to start a family who are on even a moderate income.

Estimates for future house prices in the UK are set for rises almost across the board, most of which seem to be out of line with peoples income. Banks still state that an affordable house for a first time buyer should be 3 times their annual income, therefore a person earning £25,000 per year (around the average for the UK) should be looking at £75,000 worth of house. However as most home owners are aware there are very few houses in this range, especially not in the south. Newer estimates now place a mortgage at over the x3 mark going more into x5 or more, even with the price drops.
So why are homes so unaffordable for first time buyers?

The number one reason is that there is a lack of supply on the market. A recent government report stated that 250,000 new homes needed to be built over the next 10 years, however the current construction estimates place the figure to be built at only 125,000, leaving 1/5 million people with difficult housing options.
Other factors prohibiting house construction are environmental issues, as well as protectivism on the behalf of existing home owners who want to see the price of their own home go up.

There are also numerous other factors affecting the markets too. There has been a sharp increase in the number of single parent households that has been driving up prices, it is now estimated that 1 in 3 people will be affected by divorce.

The UK is one of the few western European countries that currently has a growing population, due to higher birth rates, lower death rates and immigration which has also been driving up demand.

For many people home refinancing is a good option to help them with their finances, but as the financial crisis has shown us, home financing might not be such a good idea for many home owners; refinance, it may be good idea to analyse their options, not based upon the fickle markets, but dependant upon your own finances and how well you think they will be able to accommodate an extra burden or maybe if a home refinancing option should you take a hit to your current income. It may turn out to not be as appealing as it initially seems. Firstly, calculate the payments over the whole term of the mortgage, remembering to factor in the full range of charges and fees that may be incurred. Many refinancing or second mortgage options may have lower interest payments but be spread over a longer term, or have no initial transfer fee, but charge higher interest as a result. The second main thing to look out for is what will happen should payments be defaulted. It is always risky to leverage your home against debt, and whilst this is a life saver in some circumstances it could spell disaster. Think on the following points: • Will you save money in the long term? • Have you made yourself aware of all of the small print such as the change in type of loan? Some types of loan have more safeguards than others-by refinancing are you changing your mortgage type? • Have you made yourself fully aware of other options, for example it may be better to transfer existing debts into a special debt consolidation loan rather than to leverage your house. • If the worst happens, such as you losing your job, will you still be able to cover the costs, if only for a couple of months till you find another?

As a home buyer/ investor it is always useful to arm yourself with a variety of tools that will help you in making a decision of what kind of house to buy.

One of the most important aspects of an investment in any sector is the ability to make oneself aware of the possible long and short term changes that will take place, thereby affecting things like price appreciation, saleability, rent-ability etc.

Much of this information is freely available in government/independantly published reports; however the following is an overview of some useful information to consider:
• Housing provision
-Overall housing provision
-Provision pro-rata for different groups
• Policy changes
• Attitude changes
• Demographics
-income bracket
-ethnicity
-age bracket
-marital status or residents
-population movement/growth

While there are many other factors that affect the housing markets on both a macro and micro scale these points should give strong indications to the buyer what the future holds for them and their property.

To start out on a general overview of the housing markets, it does look as if any property would be a good investment, the government has said that there are some major problems to be faced for the future as there will not be enough homes-some estimates say that the demand for homes will increase 30% in the next decade or so. The past has also proven that property over the long term represents a generally secure investment.

This may not be necessarily true, however; looking at things on a micro scale may paint a different picture to that of a macro scale. Homes in the south and south west would be good bets as population looks to grow more here, whereas in the North West the population is actually estimated to fall, this is most likely due to the shift in work opportunities in these areas.
On another example, if you are looking at buying a house to rent it might be worth considering the change in the type of person renting. Groups such as students, ethnic minorities and the elderly as a general rule tend to pay less due to income bracket restrictions; however these groups are likely to be the ones to increase the most over the next 20 years. This could be a blessing, in that demand for affordable housing in this bracket will increase, or a curse in that the house you buy in relatively wealthy area now may not be so in a decade’s time.

In conclusion, looking at a houses environment both in the short term and long term may aid overall profits and sustainability of an investment.

The government has just released details for a plan called ‘pay as you save’ that will help home owners to upgrade their homes to become more energy efficient. The plan is being piloted in Birmingham, Sunderland and some parts of London and the initial pilot scheme will cost £4million. This plan aims to target those who want to do their part for global warming but cannot foot the sometimes prohibitive prices of installing green technology. While some home energy saving measures such as loft insulation (a couple of pounds per square metre) and heat exchange pumps (a couple of hundred pounds for the pump and pipes) are not hugely expensive in of themselves, they are quite labour intensive to install and get working correctly. The plan will work essentially like a long term payment scheme in which the home owners pay back the money over time but the payments will be less than the savings home owners will make on their energy bills. Thus incentivising much of the market and encouraging everyone to get going and do their part. Though specifics are not quite clear this loan provision may be means-tested or only partly subsidised in some areas. The plan will focus on the increasing energy efficiency of homes by providing a range of options that conserve energy such as roof insulation or energy compliant glazing to energy production methods such as ground source heat pumps, solar panels and maybe even wind turbines. Britain currently expends one quarter of its energy on home heating, even if this figure were to come down a few percent then it would be worth it to stop the hundreds of thousands of tonnes of CO2 that would otherwise be pumped into the atmosphere. This plan is one of several other initiatives that have been revealed to help the UK hit the CO2 emissions targets for 2015.

While the housing markets in the rest of the world have been cooling off, Chinas property markets have been soaring to ever greater heights. What is the cause of this? Why have their prices not fall?

The reasons are many, primary factors would be economic and population growth, but another key factor is something which is rooted in Chinas past. In the baby boomer years of the 1950’s and 60’s in which parents were actively encouraged to have children have now had their own children, who around about now are of an age where they want to settle down and get a home.

In fact, this decade has been dubbed by some as a ‘golden age’ of weddings. Newlywed couples are driving a strong demand for houses and apartments, as well as other, more market specific areas such as events coordination, wedding dress tailors and the platinum market.

Newlyweds have been estimated to constitute around 16% of the market in China right now. There is some speculation regarding whether Chinas infamous 1 child policy has influenced this, while it is true that more people may be buying houses now if there was no law, it is also a fact that many of these baby boomers children are not spending their own money, but their parents, who have saved large amounts over the past years and now wish to lavish it on an only son or daughter.

The situation is also fuelled by a strong tradition in China that a couple may not marry unless there is a house to move in to (usually paid for by the groom; or in the recent years, the grooms family).

For an investor looking to go into the Chinese property markets it would seem both a time of great risk and great opportunity. The market is estimated to still be buoyant and will possibly continue to increase in strength till around 2015 when the majority of Chinese young couples of this generation have settled down. But some financial experts have warned of a ‘bubble’ syndrome in which even a slight change in financial situation could tip the scales greatly.

Islamic banks and mortgages have been in the UK for a while now but many people are put off by the idea that only a Muslim is applicable to join. This is not true, Islamic banks are open to all and if one can get around the unfamiliar jargon used they can provide home owners with an interesting option for home financing.

Islamic banks differentiate themselves from mainstream banks as they follow the Sharia law; prohibiting the ‘making of money from money’. This therefore means the banks do not charge interest. But instead, they make profit more on a renting/reselling basis.
There are three different types of Sharia mortgage; Ijara, Murabaha and Musharaka.

An Ijara is comparable to the council housing schemes involving renters having the option to ‘buy out’ the council should they live in the house for a certain number of years, however here the propertypayments are spread equally over time, or in financial jargon; a lease-to-own HPP. The companies make money on the rental payments made over time.

The second type is a Murahaba, and works very much like a direct loan. In this kind the bank buys the property for you, then immediately sells it back for a higher price, arranging installments over a suitable period of time.

The last type is the Musharaka. This is proving to be one of the most popular choices with UK home buyers as it works like a joint ownership scheme in which you buy out consecutively higher proportions of the house from the bank, who sell you their part over time, charging a rental fee on the un-owned proportion while doing so. One of the main reasons for the popularity of this type is that the bank charges for proportions of a house’s current market value, not that of its buy value. This means it provides home owners with an opportunity to buy portions at a discounted rate, should house prices go down- therefore slumps in housing markets will not leave you with negative equity as buyers can cancel the loss of value against the cheaper house share price. Obviously this is also at risk of a person paying more when house prices are higher. But remember that the rental costs are also dependant on the share the bank holds-the buyer pays less over time.

While these mortgages seem to be good deals, like any mortgage deal it pays to shop around-mainstream mortgages could offer similar or better deals, just presented in a different way.

One of the other key reasons some choose an Islamic bank is that of ethics. They will never invest money in things associated with gambling, alcohol, tobacco or pornography.