Where can I afford to live?

Whether you are house-hunting or just daydreaming, try using this calculator to see where in the country you could afford to live - and would it be cheaper to rent or buy? Enter your requirements and how much you'd like to pay on rent or mortgage repayments each month to see places in your price range. The "Where can I afford to live?" calculator uses pricing and rental data for May 2014 to October 2014 provided by residential property analysts Hometrack. The affordability of housing varies widely across the country and will depend on whether you want to rent or buy. More about this calculator Monthly mortgage payments are based on the figures calculated by the Bank of England from rates currently being offered by banks and building societies. Every month, the Bank of England brings out figures for people wanting a mortgage for 75% or 90% or 95% of the value of the property they want to buy. The rents are based on monthly prices being asked for by landlords. Continue reading the main story

Rent 'unaffordable' for low-income families in one-third of UK 15 July 2013Last updated at 02:35 ET A third of Britain is effectively off-limits to lower-income working families because private rents are unaffordable, a new report claims. The report comes from the Resolution Foundation, which campaigns on behalf of low to middle-income families. It says most of southern England is now beyond the reach of less affluent households. The housing minister said the report was "factually flawed" and failed to take housing benefit into account. With social housing usually unavailable and home ownership unaffordable for many first-time buyers, renting privately is often the only option for households on lower incomes. A BBC housing calculator also identifies how renting a modest two-bedroom home for less than £700 a month is almost impossible in London and much of the South East. BBC housing calculator On that basis, 125 of 376 local authorities in Britain (33%) are unaffordable for less-affluent working families. “Start Quote End Quote

Letting agents: Curb 'cowboy' practices, say MPs 18 July 2013Last updated at 07:09 ET Lettings agents have been accused of a lack of transparency in the level of fees they charge Letting agents should be subject to tighter regulations that would make it possible to ban those guilty of sharp practice, a group of MPs has urged. The letting sector suffers from "cowboy" agents who "rip off" landlords and tenants, says a Communities and Local Government Committee report. Problems included unreasonable fees and opaque charges, said committee chairman Clive Betts. "Letting agents are subject to less control than estate agents," he added. Mr Betts described the letting sector as "the property industry's Wild West", adding that those acting improperly needed to "play by new rules or get out of the sector". 'Regulation required' The report follows widespread concern about the level of fees charged by letting agents. Concerns have been raised about how many of these charges were "drip-fed" after tenants had signed a contract. Refund call

Riba Stirling Prize: '60s concrete estate up for award 17 July 2013Last updated at 21:41 ET The renovation of a 1960s concrete housing block in Sheffield, once notorious for crime, drugs and deprivation, is among six architecture projects vying for the Stirling Prize. Park Hill is joined on the shortlist by a chapel for a college and religious order in Oxfordshire and a holiday home in a 12th Century Warwickshire castle. The award is the Royal Institute of British Architects' highest accolade. Riba says the finalists proves "creative vision improves our lives". Continue reading the main story The briefest glance at this year's Stirling Prize shortlist tells you modernism is still the name of the architectural awards game. Nothing wrong with that per se: there is beauty in architectural simplicity - as demonstrated by the ancient Greeks, Palladio and more recently by the likes of Oscar Niemeyer and Sir David Chipperfield. But, as we know, variety is the spice of life. Read more from Will Park Hill Phase 1, Sheffield Park Hill, beauty or beast?

Loans to first-time buyers at five-and-a-half-year high 12 July 2013Last updated at 08:03 ET Tens of thousands of first-time buyers took out loans in May The number of first-time buyers taking out mortgages has hit its highest total for five and a half years, according to the latest figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML). The CML said 25,000 people took out their first mortgage in May this year, a 42% increase on May 2012. That is the highest number of first mortgages since December 2007. The number of loans made to people moving home, or remortgaging, rose by 18.7% over the same period. The government's Funding for Lending Scheme (FLS) is widely credited with making mortgages cheaper and more available, since it was launched in August 2012. "Both the borrowing appetite of first-time buyers, and the availability of attractive mortgages for them, have improved markedly since a year ago," said Paul Smee, director general of the CML. The figures could also have been exaggerated by a relatively low uptake of mortgages in May 2012.