The number of 90% mortgages has fallen by 26% from 330 products this time last year to the 244 now.
Sarah Davidson, 22 August, 2012
Moneysupermarket said in the past six months alone the number of mortgages available for loans up to 95% of the property’s value has fallen by 43% from 49 products to just 28. In the past 12 months first-time buyer mortgage products have fallen by 31% from 1,786 to 1,225. A number of lenders that were offering 95% mortgages six months ago have since withdrawn them from the market.
These include Cambridge, Ipswich, Nottingham and Skipton building societies. Clare Francis, mortgage expert at MoneySupermarket, said: “Our analysis shows the continuing difficulty facing first-time buyers and those with smaller deposits looking to find a suitable mortgage. "Despite the launch of the Funding for Lending Scheme which was designed to encourage further mortgage lending by the banks, there appears to be few signs that the initiative is helping those with small deposits. "It is still early days and we won’t see any data on the impact of the initiative until the end of the year, but so far there is little to indicate that the scheme will kick start the beleaguered mortgage market.”
Monday, 6 August 2012
WOW what a weekend have you ever been so proud to be British?? I know I haven't felt this much national enthusiasm for sport in my lifetime. The unique opportunity the Olympics gives is the vast variety of sports on offer from a spectator point of view and it has to be said the BBC has done a magnificent job of broadcasting a very broad spread of these events even on their traditional headline channels.
It's a wonder any work is getting done such is the fervour and fever spreading throughout the country on this British wave of success.
As a proud Yorkshireman I would also like to pass on my congratulations to all the Yorkshire Athletes, the Daily Mail published an article stating that if Yorkshire was a country it would have more medals than Japan, Australia and South Africa!!
With all this coverage it's difficult to see underneath this success at the business headlines this week but here are couple of tit bits that people might find interesting -
Tesco Bank has launched 4 mortgage products at competitive rates however they won't go above 80% ltv and they come on a non advised basis so be aware if you decide to use these products they might not fulfil your mortgage needs - get some advice first from a qualified broker! ING were an example of a bank that went down this road around 2-3 years ago and now they very quickly became aware that they need to ensure the customer is protected by being given the right advice hence opening up all their products to brokers.
Marks & Spencer have also announced that they have decided to start offering more banking facilities and are looking to produce their own mortgage range in the future.
The Bank of England is set to downgrade its growth and inflation forecasts as the eurozone crisis and slowing domestic demand continue to hit the UK economy.
The BoE is expected to reveal in its August inflation report on Wednesday that the UK will have almost no growth in 2012, a marked fall from the 0.7 per cent forecast made in its May forecast.
The forecast, which will be presented by Governor Sir Mervyn King, will also downgrade growth to 1.5 per cent in 2013, down from the 2.1 per cent forecast in May. According toThe Telegraph, King is also likely to say that falling oil and commodity prices and a slowing economy will pull inflation down faster than forecast.
The Bank is expected to say annual inflation will fall below the 2 per cent target by the end of the year, from its current level of 2.4 per cent.
For those on tracker mortgages this seems to be good news as interest rates are normally used to curtail inflation, if' its falling without adjusting it then there's no real reason to adjust it in the near future - 0.5% for sometime then!!
Mortgages Leeds: BTL - Good or bad idea?: The latest so called industry research seems to be pouring cold water on BTL as a valid way of looking at alternate investment strategies fo...
The latest so called industry research seems to be pouring cold water on BTL as a valid way of looking at alternate investment strategies for individuals with "The Model Works" claiming most people who bought BTL properties within the last 5 years will have potentially lost all their original capital outlay.
As most of you will be aware the last 5 years has seen the most dramatic impact on the UK housing market in the last 20 years with property prices falling signifcantly in the UK as whole (with the possible expection of London).
This fall though has also brought about the greatest opportunity for buying property. Negotiation on property is now such that people are more "clued up" due to the press negativity and therefore are prepared to bargain harder for the properties they want. None more so than those who are looking to invest in property.
This is perhaps where the Brian Hall's "The Model Works" theory falls over to some extent. His research paints a bleak picture for those who have bought within the last 5 years however I would argue that as long as someone is looking at property as a long term aspiration for capital growth and income then anyone who has bought in this period will reap the rewards as long as they hang on in there.
That being said there is merit in what Brian Hall states in that those with only 1 property, who were perhaps accidental landlords (i.e. those people who couldn't sell a residential property but wanted to move anyway), are most at risk when it comes to maintenance costs and rental voids. The right advice needs to be sought at the outset when considering these options. People need to be made aware that the liability still exists and in "lean" months they need to be able to cover these costs from income or savings.
I still believe that BTL is a valid and ultimately profitable way forward for people looking for a diverse range of income streams and investments but care needs to be applied when looking at property in terms of location, cost, rent, demand, funding and above all else what happens if??
My advice is get the information regarding the above before committing and if you don't know where to find it or who to ask get in touch with me and I'll give you some pointers gratis!!
