New figures from the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) reveal that the number of new build homes in the capital in 2004 was the highest in more than 20 years. A total of 24,123 homes were built in London last year - 31% up on the ODPM's 2003 figure of 18,382.

Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, said: "There has been a dramatic improvement in the number of new homes being built in the capital in recent years. The London Plan sets ambitious targets for new homes and it is welcome that the house building industry is listening. New homes remain one of the capital's greatest needs but house builders and boroughs are really starting to deliver."

Standard Life, Winterthur Life, Carr Sheppards Crosthwaite, Greyfriars Asset Management, Skandia and James Hay have all been named the best providers of self-invested personal pensions, according to a recent survey conducted by independent analyst Defaqto.

The survey looked at various criteria including charges, flexibility, the number of features offered and service provided.

'SIPP's are probably the fastest growing financial product available today,' said Matt Ward, Defaqto's head of pensions and author of the report. 'Where once SIPP's were niche products they have now become centre stage and understanding them and their marketplace is essential for everyone involved in pensions,' Ward added.

Indication is that rates may rise.

The following statistics indicate that interest rates may now be set to rise.

Despite the Bank of England's forecast that the property market will slowdown, house prices and mortgage lending has risen since the turn of the year. The price of an average UK home rose 0.5 per cent last month, following a 0.4 per cent rise in January, according to Nationwide.

Although the annual rate declined to 10.2 from 12.6 per cent, Nationwide said there was evidence that the worst of the downturn in the UK residential property market was over. However Alex Bannister, Nationwide's chief economist, said that at the current pace, house prices could end the year up 6%, 2% above Nationwide's initial forecast.

Loans for house purchase is up 3% from December, Consumer credit - overdraft, card purchases and bank loans rose 46% in January according to the Bank of England.

Alan Castle, UK economist at Lehman Brothers, said: "The odds of a surprise rate hike next week have probably increased to around one in three."

UK Housing Market Remains Stable.

There was a further sign today that the UK's housing market is stabilising following mounting concerns that higher borrowing costs would help engineer a crash.

Demand for rental property has risen amidst more stable conditions in the housing sector, although at a slower pace than in recent times, according to a quarterly survey of the rental market produced by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.

"It looks like any signs of panic in the housing market are largely over, bringing stability to the lettings market," said Jeremy Leaf, RICS's spokesman.

Last week, RICS revealed that house prices fell in January at the slowest pace in four months, raising expectations that the worst may be over, while Hometrack's monthly survey, released yesterday, reveals that buying interest picked up markedly in February. Hometrack found that new buyers registering with estate agents in February rose by a staggering 28.5% compared with a 12.8% decline in January, while the number of agreed sales rose by an 36% compared with a 13% decline in January.

The South West of England is now the least affordable place to but a property in the UK. Recent research conducted by the Housing Charity Shelter revealed that people in the South West spent 23.3% of their salary on their mortgage compared to a UK average of 19.9%.

Director of Shelter Adam Sampson said: "The findings show that not only how difficult it is for first time buyers to get on the housing ladder, but that there will be extra pressure on the limited social housing stock."