A majority of homeowners across the UK expect to see the value of their property decline over the course of the next 12 months, according to recent research.

Figures compiled as part of the Building Society Association’s Property Price Tracker show that almost three-quarters of Britons believe values will fall in the coming year.

Around one in four of those polled said they think the decline will wipe between five and ten per cent off the value of their property and for many this could mean debt management and money problems in months to come.

The BSA’s director general Adrian Coles said: "It is clear the positive outlook that has characterised the property market for the last few years is now a thing of the past and people expect prices to fall over the next year."

Moneyfacts reported last week that a two-year fixed-rate mortgage deal in the UK now carries an average interest level of over seven per cent.

British consumers look set to become more environmentally friendly in an effort to cut their costs and avoid money problems, it has been claimed.

According to a report from Tesco Personal Finance dramatic increases in fuel prices will result in millions of households "going green" in search of energy and cost savings.

In fact, most of the homeowners polled recently said that the rises in fuel costs will force them to save energy but 83 per cent admitted that they could currently be doing more to limit their impact on the environment.

"Going green takes a little bit of effort but can reap huge rewards in the long and short-term," said Paul Baxter from Tescocompare.com.

"There are lots of things that cost next to nothing, which we can all do on a day-to-day basis to reduce our carbon footprint and energy bills."

According to a recent report from Combined Insurance, rises in the cost of living in the first half of this year have left many British households facing serious money problems.

Chancellor Alistair Darling has called on mortgage lenders in the UK to ensure that their arrangement fees are fair to customers.

Mr Darling has expressed concern that people looking to remortgage are having their money problems made worse as a result of being charged large sums for arrangement by their financial service provider.

The Council of Mortgage Lenders has noted that the fees its members charge vary a great deal but the chancellor has warned the industry that he might turn the matter over to the Financial Services Authority.

"I’m very concerned that people ought to be treated fairly, especially people coming off fixed rates and going on to different rates," he said.

"Everybody accepts there are costs that have to be met when they change over, but I think we have to make sure people are treated fairly and are not taken advantage of."

Moneyfacts reported recently that the typical interest level now being charged by British lenders on a two-year fixed-rate mortgage is over seven per cent.

Millions of British consumers are relying on an inheritance to solve their money problems and keep their finances healthy, it has been suggested.

According to a report from price comparison firm Fool.co.uk, almost half of adults in the UK are expecting to receive some kind of windfall from older generations of their family.

However, many are set to be disappointed because only one in four people feel confident that they will be in a position to bequeath the majority of their assets when they die and 61 per cent plan to worry about their own wellbeing first and foremost.

Additionally, the debt management and money problems of aging Britons are such that one person in 25 believes that they will barely have a penny to their name when they die.

"We can no longer rely on assets being passed down the family tree," said David Kuo, head of personal finance at Fool.co.uk.

"For the many of us who are struggling to make ends meet, we will have to fend for ourselves in the here and now."

According to a recent report from YouthNet and Citizens Advice, people in the UK are becoming stressed about their money problems from an early age and many teenagers are now worried about debt management.

The remortgaging market in the UK is holding up despite the various pressures on the housing sector, according to the British Bankers’ Association (BBA).

BBA members reported a poor performance in terms of home loan activity over the course of last month, with remortgaging proving to be the only area of the market offering cause for optimism.

Indeed, while the total number of mortgage deals done in May were 56.8 per cent down on a year ago, remortgaging activity increased by 6.3 per cent on the same comparative basis.

"Only remortgaging business is holding up, where people need or want to take advantage of deals with other lenders," said the BBA’s statistics director David Dooks.

He went on to suggest that tightening lending criteria and the money problems being faced by consumers are principally to blame for the downturn in the property market.

A report from Moneyfacts this week revealed that the typical two-year fixed-rate mortgage deal in the UK now has an interest rate of over seven per cent.

A rise in the scale of British consumers’ distressed borrowing has been forecast by an economic expert.

Howard Archer, chief UK and European economist at Global Insight, is convinced that an increasing number of people will be forced to spend on credit because of the extent of their money problems.

Paying off household bills, buying food and meeting mortgage repayment demands is set to become a real struggle for many families and as a result some will cover their expenses by borrowing, Mr Archer maintains.

"Rising debt levels, low household savings rates and lower equity prices mean that there is a pressing need for many consumers to improve their finances," he said.

Mr Archer’s comments came in response to figures released by the British Bankers’ Association (BBA) that showed credit card borrowing increased over the course of last month.

The BBA’s latest data also revealed that approvals for mortgage deals were down more than 50 per cent last month compared with May of last year.

Mortgage borrowers have seen the average interest level on a fixed-rate product continue to increase in recent weeks.

According to a report from Moneyfacts, the typical two-year fixed-rate mortgage deal now on the market charges 7.02 per cent, while a five-year equivalent has an average rate of around 6.82 per cent.

The figures reflect rises seen recently in the loan swap rates and the increased costs to lenders but they could cause added headaches to homeowners with debt problems.

Indeed, Moneyfacts has suggested that many families will face a serious debt management struggle when they remortgage from one fixed-rate mortgage deal to another in the current climate.

"These are continuingly worrying times for anyone coming to the end of their current mortgage deal," a statement from Moneyfacts read.

Earlier this month, the research firm Defaqto reported that personal loans are becoming more expensive for British borrowers.

Withdrawing money from an ATM while on holiday can prove costly for British holidaymakers, it has been claimed.

According to MoneyExpert, debit and credit card holders could be adding to their money problems by using them to make withdrawals overseas, with the related charges worth a collective total of millions of pounds.

The price comparison site has suggested that there are certain credit card providers that offer a particularly good deal on ATM transactions outside the UK but others charge relatively large sums for the service

"With the pound currently very weak against the euro, unnecessary fees are the last thing holidaymakers need," said Sean Gardner from MoneyExpert.

National Savings & Investments reported last week that almost two-thirds of British holidaymakers overspend to some extent and for many a trip a abroad results in a serious money problems.

Millions of young British consumers are feeling stressed out about their debt problems, according to recent research.

A study by the charity groups YouthNet and Citizens Advice found that money-related mental health issues are affecting close to one-quarter of people aged between 16 and 24 across the country.

For one in five of the young Britons polled their efforts in financial management left them crossing their fingers and hoping that they had some money left at the end of the month.

In addition, a majority said that they had been encouraged to borrow more than they wanted or could afford to do and 47 per cent admitted that they had suffered with some sort of debt problem.

Around 95 per cent of young people with debt problems turn to their parents for help or advice, while 67 per cent go online in search of useful financial information.

A report released earlier this year by the Rainer charity group concluded that debt problems are "endemic" among teenage Britons.

The UK’s housing sector is heading for "serious grief", the Liberal Democrat economic spokesperson Vince Cable has claimed.

Mr Cable is convinced that the ongoing housing sector slump will be worse than many analysts are currently anticipating and will be very difficult to alleviate.

He has suggested that the government should oblige creditors to adhere to a strict code of conduct in order to avoid seeing large scale repossessions across the country.

"I think the government is going to struggle with this combination of high inflation, low growth and potentially increased unemployment for several years," Mr Cable told myfinances.co.uk.

Meanwhile, chancellor Alistair Darling has urged consumers not to dwell too much on the potential of the economy going into recession.

According to the Council of Mortgage Lenders, its members handed out £6 billion less in home loans last month than was the case in May of last year as the housing sector slump goes on.