Retirees turning their back on the housing market in the pursuit of ready cash to settle debts are paying the price in accommodation costs, the latest figures suggest.

Returns from cash savings are crushing parents' hopes of helping their children to get a foot on the housing ladder, as interest rates are outstripped by house prices over the long term.

If you think prices are rising, just wait until 2014, as the full impact of Help to Buy hits home. By Graham Norwood

Osborne's £130bn scheme to boost lending slated as smart politics but 'epic economic fail'

Chancellor met housebuilders and mortgage lenders to flesh out plans to underwrite £130bn of mortgage lending

Investors have become more bullish about bricks and mortar as the outlook for property has improved across the country.

When the press release detailing the latest mortgage products from Leeds Building Society landed in my inbox this week, it grabbed my attention when I saw that the home loans were being offered with an initial 0 per cent interest rate.

No need to worry about payment shock – overpay now or fix rates.

Do you remember sale and rent back? Companies which flogged the deals targeted struggling homeowners with an offer to buy their home and then let them remain paying rent. They sold the deals on the promise of helping people avoid becoming homeless.

Couples who start a family in their 20s could be saving for a deposit for 12 years - nearly double the time faced by childless couples

There's no let-up in the quest for new mortgage business, with lenders scrapping harder than ever for best buy recognition since the Funding for Lending Scheme (FLS) came into play.

The mortgage market's moving again, rates are at an all-time low, lenders are flush with government cash, and – at last – they're keen to hand it over

Fears of another property bubble as prices leap in May at their fastest rate for six years.

The deal