POUND NOTES

Financial fact

A quarter (25%) of UK adults have been overdrawn in the past 12 months, according to recent research from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

Places with ‘best quality of life’ identified

Hart in north-east Hampshire has been crowned the UK’s best place to live in an annual quality of life survey from Halifax. The Orkney Islands in Scotland took second place, followed by Rutland in the East Midlands, Wychavon in Worcestershire – and last year’s winner Winchester in fifth place. But living in an area with such a good quality of life comes at a price, with the average house price in Hart, at £419,231, standing at 8.8 times the average annual pre-tax local income.

Housing market ‘stifled’ by lack of fresh properties

Housing market activity continues to be “stifled” by a persistent shortage of fresh properties coming to market alongside economic uncertainty, according to surveyors. The Royal Institution of Surveyors’ (Rics) report for November said the near-term outlook for both house prices and sales is “broadly flat”, with feedback suggesting surveyors are unconvinced the market will gain impetus in the coming months. Rics said the fresh supply of properties being listed for sale continued to deteriorate in November – and numbers have now been declining for 22 months in a row.

‘Mid-life savings crisis’ hits some workers

Nearly one in five workers aged in their 50s and 60s is going through a “mid-life savings crisis”, research suggests. Some 18% of workers in this age group surveyed for Aviva say they are unable to save anything for their retirement, as everyday living puts too great a strain on their finances.

A Department for Work and Pensions spokesman says: “Our pensions reforms are setting millions of people on the path to a financially secure retirement, with the new state pension providing a strong foundation for people to build on through their private pensions savings.”