Mixed Signals From UK Housing - Properties for Sale up, Lending Down, Reports Offshoreonline.org

LONDON, February 22, 2010 - The UK market is presenting an increasingly complex picture so far in
2010, with gross mortgage lending at a 10 year low, according to the Council
of Mortgage Lenders who represent the bulk of Building Societies. The number
of new properties coming on to the market has, however, jumped by nearly 20%
against the position 12 months ago with over 90,000 properties being listed
in January alone, according to property portal Rightmove.co.uk. Rightmove add
that whilst this figure may have been affected by new rules regarding the
availability of Home Improvement Packs - sellers were not allowed to offer a
property without such a pack being in place in January 2009, the overall
level of confidence is high, with 62% of respondents in their buyer
confidence poll claiming now was a good time to buy.

Commenting on the figures, Tim Harvey, managing director of UK regulated
mortgage brokers Offshoreonline.org (www.Offshoreonline.org) said.
"The UK housing market has produced some remarkable data over the past 12
months. Stock shortage was a common problem in 2009, with estate agents
reporting fewer sellers. However, prices held up well in the most sought
after areas, as demand remained, with the result that we saw headlines
proclaiming pre credit crunch values being achieved."

Against this background of albeit localised solid demand, prices in the
UK have started to edge upwards on a consistent basis. According to the
Financial Times House Price Index, values rose by 0.7% in January, giving an
annual improvement of 5.4%. Asking prices, as recorded by Rightmove.co.uk
jumped by 3.2% in the same month. Tim Harvey adds, "Sellers are certainly
showing signs of confidence and are coming back into the market. We have now
had over 6 months of positive reports of house price growth across all of the
major monitors in this market, with the Financial Times Index reporting 9
months of price growth. Inevitably, this is sending a message to sellers that
prices are stabilising, so now is a good time to start to sell again after
the turmoil of 2007 and early 2008."

Mortgage rates remained competitive after the Bank of England again kept
UK base Rate on hold at 0.5%. This is leading to mortgage rates for
expatriates buying in the UK as low as 2.99%, subject to deposit sizes.

Tim Harvey ends, "Expatriates earning in almost any foreign currency are
now in a position to take advantage of the relative weakness of sterling to
secure a good deal in the UK market. Despite recent volatility sterling is
still weak on an historic perspective, which effectively gives buyers "winter
sale" discount. With volumes of new homes now up, the choice is far wider for
the buyer."

Note to Editors

Offshoreonline.ORG is a UK regulated specialist expatriate broker
offering advice on UK, French, Italian, Spanish and Turkish mortgages, life
insurance, pensions and savings for UK expatriates anywhere in the world.
Offshoreonline.org is the website of HR Independent Financial Services Ltd,
who are based in Devon.

Offshoreonline .org pioneered the concept of the discount broker in the
expatriate market when it started offering no fee deals on many popular
offshore savings funds in 1998.

Overall, the company aims to bring high quality UK regulated advice and
service to UK expatriates worldwide in the areas of pensions, mortgages and
life cover. The company is UK regulated by the FSA for investment business,
giving offshore customers the reassurance that they are dealing with a
reputable organisation.

For more information of UK mortgages for expatriates and overseas
residents, visit www.offshoreonline.org or call 01364 72393

For further press information:

Jenny Duffy +44-(0)20-8333-9125

Email: jenny@nacelle.co.uk

For further press information: Jenny Duffy +44-(0)20-8333-9125, Email: jenny at nacelle.co.uk