Another price increase coming into effect today is further bad news of families who heavily rely on landlines for both calls and broadband.

BT customers will see their home phone bills rise again as line rental charges creep up for the third time in 12 months.

As well as the recent 9% increases on BT call rates, customers have also been subject to stealth hikes on the cost of line rental.

Last year, BT line rental cost £11.54 a month. However, this has risen by nearly £2 over the course of one year, taking the cost of a landline up to £13.90 per month from today.

Furthermore, there

The royal festivities are over and the long weekend begins... a perfect time to check out all the new properties we have in our database! There are over a thousand current properties for auction, and over 200 lots still available from the auctions that have taken place this past month.

Become a member today and receive access to full property details for each lot in our database, auction venue info and auctioneer contact details, streetview, google map, local statistics, recently sold property information, plus access to our comprehensive Auctioneer Directory and Auction Calendar.  It

One in five households will rent their house or flat from a private landlord in five years, up from 16% now, while the number of owner-occupiers may fall by more than 1m, experts predicted at The Sunday Times housing market roundtable last week.

This rise in renters could provide opportunities for cash-rich buy-to-let investors looking for long-term income growth, although they should not expect a return to strong capital gains any time soon.

James Charles reports on their findings and predictions for the housing market  http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/business/money/mortgage_and

Mortgage lenders are returning to buy-to-lets amid evidence that rental yields have started to climb above 6%.

James Charles reported in the Sunday Times this week that typical yields have started to climb above 6% as landlords benefit from rising rents and falling or stagnant prices.

Analysis by Find A Property compared regional yields with the most popular types of buy-to-let properties and found that three-bedroom houses in Scotland produced an average gross yield of 6.5% last month, while one-bedroom flats earned a yield of 6% in London and 6.4% in the West Midlands.

However, not

Consumers could face a new round of energy price rises as early as next month, experts are warning.

As the "big six" energy suppliers axe their cheapest deals in the face of soaring wholesale gas prices, domestic fuel prices are expected to rise by 15% this year. This would add £172.50 to the typical household energy bill of £1,150 a year.

Suppliers are blaming earlier than expected price rises on pressure caused by the political crisis in the Middle East and North Africa, the Japenese nuclear catastrophe and surging demand from the booming Chinese and Indian economies.

This year

Grand Designs Live London returns to ExCeL from the 30th April to 8th May and tickets are on sale now - click here to book http://www.granddesignslive.com/. The event is the UK's number one, award-winning home show packed with design and inspiration for your home. Grand Designs Live is perfect for anyone who has an interest in interiors, build, kitchens, bathrooms, gardens, shopping, food, village and technology. The show will provide you with plenty of amazing ideas to turn your dream home into a reality. If you're self-building, renovating or simply re-decorating you’ll find everything

Hello!  This will be my last posting for a few days as off to enjoy some Easter sunshine in the Midlands!

I just wanted to draw your attention to our latest property Hot Picks that are for auction week commencing 2nd May http:// http://www.ukauctionlist.com/hotpicks

They include a fantasic investment opportunity in Brixton, a commercial property in Aberdeenshire, and houses with great potential in both Spalding and Hitchin.

If you're interested in any of the properties in our Hot Picks and would like further information, please give us a ring on 0845 0536906.

Have a lovely Easter!

Are you interested in putting your property in to auction, or just finding our a bit more about how it works?

UK Auction List and are auctioneer partners around the UK can help you put your property on the market. We aim to make the process as simple, straightforward and stress free for you as possible. There are a lots of advantages to putting your property into auction, with obviously speed of sale being the biggest factor - normally completion is within 28 days!

Simply visit our SELLING section http://www.ukauctionlist.com/selling/property-auction-enquiry-form (or click on the Selling

It is the perfect London pied-à-terre for a non-dom tycoon about town. A three-storey penthouse overlooking Hyde Park has been sold for £136m – becoming by far the most expensive flat ever bought in Britain.

An unnamed buyer, using lawyers in Ukraine, has bought two apartments in the newly opened One Hyde Park development in Knightsbridge that have been knocked into one to create a 25,000 sq ft (2,300 sq m) penthouse with a wine cellar and access to room service at the neighbouring Mandarin Oriental hotel, according to documents filed last week at the Land Registry.

The price eclipses the

It has been reported this lunchtime that inflation unexpectedly dropped last month, weakening the prospect of an imminent interest rate hike by policymakers at the Bank of England.

The Consumer Prices Index (CPI) rate of inflation was 4% in March, down from 4.4% in February, but still double the Government's 2% target, said the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

City analysts had expected the CPI rate to hold at 4.4%.

The ONS said the drop in the cost of living was driven by falling food prices, which slipped 1.4% - the biggest month-on-month drop since between June and July 2007 -