Debt-free life tops wish list

These days it is not next door's Audi, or their flash new extension that gets the Joneses green-eyed; apparently, mortgage envy is what most troubles middle Englanders. Lender HSBC claims its research shows boasting of a mortgage-free lifestyle is today's definitive dinner party conversation-stopper. Its research shows seven in 10 homeowners said they would be impressed if their friends revealed they had paid their mortgage off earlier than the usual 25 years. HSBC says it has found the desire to escape mortgage debt is so strong, it has sparked a new form of one-upmanship among neighbours. Nearly half (46 per cent) of all homeowners said that paying off the mortgage by far outstripped other status symbols, including designer kitchens and smart cars. www.hsbc.co.uk 0800 494 999.

· House prices fell for the fourth consecutive month, with no counties reporting price increases, the Hometrack October survey of the national housing market has shown. It reports a 0.6 per cent fall in average house prices and that the excess supply of properties on the market has increased again this month. The number of buyers registered with estate agents has fallen by 3.8 per cent and the number of properties listed has increased by 5.6 per cent. Hometrack says this surplus points to further house price falls in the coming months. The average time taken to sell properties has risen again to 6.5 weeks, compared to 5.3 weeks in August's survey, while the average price achieved fell further to 93.7 per cent of the asking price, against 94.5 per cent shown in September's report. www.hometrack.co.uk

· Real-life Bridget Joneses are fuelling the housing market. Halifax research shows that young women are increasingly choosing to buy their first home alone. In the mortgage market, the greatest increase has been in the proportion of home loans taken out by single women, which more than doubled from 9.8 per cent in 1983 to 23 per cent in 2003. Craig Donaldson, head of mortgage products at Halifax, says: 'Research also shows women are typically more independent than men, leaving home at an earlier age and, increasingly, buying their first homes alone.'

· Ahead of the anticipated big chill this winter, Halifax General Insurance is reminding homeowners of the importance of sweeping out their chimneys before lighting up their fires. According to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, 12,200 homes in the UK are affected by the consequences of chimney fires every year. Throughout the summertime, leaves, paper and birds' nests build up in chimney flues. All of this, on top of the existing soot, can result in a potentially lethal cocktail of debris, says Halifax. It says it is vital homeowners clean chimneys before their first use of the season and most important, employ a professional chimney sweep and not to give into temptation to clean their chimneys themselves. www.halifax.co.uk/insurance, 0800 028 2498.