Category: Blog

An online survey of 2,012 people, including 776 non-homeowners, by Post Office Mortgages, found 36% of young men were planning to buy a home in the near future compared with 32% of women.
Of those women surveyed, 46% said they would happily forego buying new furniture and appliances if it allowed them to buy their first home, compared with just 33% of men. However, young men were happier to move away from friends to get into the property market with 33% saying they would make this compromise compared to 21% of women.
Overall, enthusiasm for the property market among 18 to 34-year-olds has increased, the research revealed. Of those surveyed, 34% said they were committed to buying a property in the near future, a significant increase from last year when the number was about 20%.

Halifax’s June house price index shows house prices rose 1% in June compared to May. Year-on-year house prices are down 0.5% and in the last three months they have fallen by 0.3% – the average house price now stands at £162,417.
Halifax’s housing economist Martin Ellis says that the end of the stamp duty holiday in March appears to have distorted house price movements and sales in recent months.
But he says that there has been a significant improvement in the annual rate of change in the last year as in May 2011 house prices were falling 4.2%. In contrast, there has been broad stability recently with the annual rate between 0% and – 0.5% in each of the past three months.
However, Capital Economics says Halifax’s index seems to have been more strongly affected than other series by the volatility in sales generated by the most recent stamp duty holiday.

Barclays is warning that consumers are missing out on a huge cost-saving opportunity after research by the bank revealed that 58% of homeowners have never changed their mortgage aside from moving house.
Some 74% of those surveyed said they would consider remortgaging if it would save them £50 a month, but the majority believed they could only save around £10 a month by doing so.
The research also shows that 44% of people say they have been spending more time on cost cutting over the past 12 months, but Barclays argues many are missing out on one of the biggest saving opportunities by ignoring their mortgage.
Andy Gray, head of mortgages at Barclays, says: “The fact that around six in 10 homeowners have never changed their mortgage outside of moving house suggests that they simply don’t realise the levels of savings to be had by remortgaging.
“As monthly outgoings rise, and Britons fight to cut their costs, it’s important
that they consider addressing their mortgage.”
He adds:“There are an increasing number of good mortgage deals to be had so we are urging homeowners to act now and look at the rate they are paying, to allow them to get more out of their hard-earned cash.”

Buy-to-let lending is set to increase further after two years of rising demand and supply, the Bank of England claims.
In its Credit Conditions Survey the Bank highlights buy-to-let lending as an area that has grown in supply and demand since 2009.
The report states that growth in the private rented sector means buy-to-let lending could continue to grow.
But it says it is unlikely that rises in BTL lending will fill the gap left by the reduction in first-time buyer lending.
In recent discussions with the Bank of England most lenders noted that the BTL market was unlikely to drive a wider housing market recovery, given its relatively small size.
The report states that buy-to-let lending was hit harder after the financial crash as investors were sensitive to house price drops due to a focus on capital gains.
But it states: “Over the past two years however, that pattern of lending has to some extent reversed, with gross BTL lending having risen while total gross mortgage lending has been broadly unchanged.”

Recently the British Bankers Association has suggested that the declines in the level of lending for mortgage purposes from both banks and building societies have been due to a lack of consumer demand.
This is not quite the case as very many applicants are being turned down or being offered lower amounts than requested.
Although the number of overall mortgage products has increased, sadly, the reality is that most of these products are only available in the low loan-to-value, (LTV) arena, around 70% and below. What is really needed is more innovation in the 80% to 90% loan-to-value market.
For those looking at borrowing, preparing your documentation before you start applying for a mortgage is important. The amount you can borrow is no longer simply linked to a multiple of your income but on an affordability basis linked to your overall credit score.
The lender’s credit score can be tightened and loosened at will as a lender decides exactly when to increase or decrease their lending levels. A good three-year address history is an advantage and it helps dramatically to be registered on the voters roll at your current address.
Monthly outgoings are taken into account, so a small credit card you could pay off, but choose just to pay the minimum, could affect your borrowing.
The number of dependents you have also has a bearing, as will any outgoings such as childcare. This means that although they may be on the same incomes, a couple with no children or credit card debts may be able to borrow substantially more than a couple with two children and outstanding credit card balances.
In terms of documentation, lenders will want to see your last three months’ payslips and last P60 as well as potentially your last three months’ bank statements. These must be sequential with no single statement missing. Many lenders do not like internet bank statements, even though they encourage their own customers to switch to online statements.
A good mortgage consultant will guide you through these obstacles in a clear and concise way to ensure that you are not disadvantaged by insufficient or erroneous data being given to potential lenders.

The housing ‘part-exchange’ market was booming in 2007 and the early part of 2008 before the effect of the recession took hold. This type of transaction hit 36,799 in 2007 and 32,959 in 2008.
However in 2009 there was a very significant 69% drop to 12,164 transactions as homebuyers retreated from the market place.
Currently we are seeing an improvement in this part of the market as home purchases involving part exchange increased by 13% during 2010 to 13,732. Although this is well below the peak, it indicates that the outlook is looking more positive.
Part exchange is once again the most popular incentive for home movers looking at new build homes because the transaction is much easier with no estate agency fees and no chains involved.
House building figures are continuing to pick up with private new home development increasing by 21% between Q3 2009 and Q3 2010.

Alert for families on variable mortgages
The Bank of England has warned that millions of households face mortgage misery in 2011 because they have become vulnerable to higher interest rates.In its twice yearly financial stability report, the Bank warns that growing numbers of homeowners are at risk because they have moved off fixed rate mortgages and opted for variable rates as their fixed rate deals have expired.
Two thirds of the country’s 12 million outstanding mortgages are now on variable rate deals. This means that their interest rates ‘float’ with the Bank’s base rate which is currently held at 0.5% An increase in rates from 0.5% to 1.0% would increase the cost of an average £150,000 mortgage by £43 per month or £516 per year. The Bank is worried because many months of rock bottom rates have tempted millions of families to switch to variable rates so increasing their vulnerability to interest rate rises.
The Confederation of British Industry believes that rates – currently at a record low of 0.5% will hit 1.25% by the end of 2011 and 2.75% by the end of 2012 if the forecasts prove to be accurate.An increase in the Bank of England base rates to 2.75% would increase the average payment on a £150,000 mortgage by £202 per month, equivalent to £2,424 per year.

Four in 10 mortgage holders have no life cover.
A total of 43% of mortgage holders in Britain do not have their mortgage payments protected by life insurance, according to data from a major life insurer.The findings suggest that there are over 7.1 million people with a collective outstanding mortgage balance of £318bn who have no life insurance and mortgage protection to cover this.

A recent survey has revealed that 90% of people planning to take out a mortgage in the next year do not completely understand the difference between the main types of mortgages that are on offer.
Only 8% of respondents said they completely understood all the differences between the many variations of mortgages but 11% said they didn’t understand anything at all.
The survey also highlighted that only 26% of people who already have a mortgage feel they completely understand the differences.
This is not too surprising considering the overwhelming choice and complexity that potential borrowers are faced with when they do a simple internet search.
It emphasizes the need for people to take great care when trying to make very important financial decisions without seeking mortgage advice from a good professional mortgage advisor. It is really important that they thoroughly research which is the best mortgage product for them, taking into consideration their stage in life and current financial circumstances.
It is always important to compare like for like and to keep in mind that lender fees can play a large part in whether or not a particular mortgage deal is competitive against the many other deals on offer.
In our role as mortgage brokers Manchester we can help to guide you through the maze of information that you will need to understand to make the right decisions for you and your family.