Mortgages cheaper than renting

Figures have shown that people paying off a mortgage are spending less every month than those renting.

Halifax found that the average mortgage for a three-bedroom house among those recently taken out is 600 per month – more than 100 cheaper than the average monthly rent.

People living in the same type of property but as tenants were paying 716 every month, figures which offer a timely boost for UK mortgages.

Mortgage holders in the capital were paying a tenth less than renters, the figures also showed.

The trend for mortgages being the cheaper option is a reversal on the situation four years ago, when people buying their own home were paying nearly a third more than those renting.

Back in 2008 the mortgage rate on a new deal averaged 5.75%. However, the historic low base rate of 0.5% has put paid to that, taking the average rate to 3.63% in 2011. The same three-year period also saw house prices drop by

Clegg calls for tax on mansions

People who own properties worth more than 2 million should face a mansion tax, the Deputy Prime Minister has said.

Nick Clegg said he wanted to see a new tax introduced on the highest-value homes in the UK property investment market.

He said: “I know the mansion tax is controversial, but who honestly believes it is right that an oligarch pays just double the council tax of an average homeowner even if their house is worth 100 times as much?

“And who seriously thinks we would kill aspiration through a levy on the 0.1% of the population who own 2 million homes?”

The move was among a series of measures proposed by the Liberal Democrat leader as he pledged to support faster tax cuts for low and middle-income earners.

He said he wants Chancellor George Osborne to introduce the planned income tax threshold of 10,000 more quickly than planned.

This will help to relieve the growing pressure on household