Are Low Deposit Mortgages Propping Up The Housing Market?

The number of people buying houses with low-value deposits has risen by 7.3 per cent in the last year, according to data analysis by chartered surveyors e.surv. Lending to borrowers who have only small deposits (15 per cent or less of the property’s value) accounted for 16.3 per cent of house purchases in April, up 1.4 percentage points from the same month last year (14.9 per cent). The number of house purchase approvals was a shade over 62,000 in April, a 1.9 per cent drop on April 2014. This is the lowest the (seasonally adjusted) figure has been for a long time, partly due to Mortgage Market Review (MMR) restrictions, with the last six months’ figures implying that growth could return soon. Read more on the City A.M. website.

Help to Buy 'Makes Shared Ownership Uncompetitive In North'

Providers are not offering shared ownership properties in low-value areas of the north of England, because it is ‘impossible’ to make it competitive against Help to Buy. Housing associations said they have struggled to sell units of the part-rent, part-buy product where values are low because eligible buyers can afford to own outright. According to statistics from the HCA, 2,800 shared ownership homes are unsold nationwide, with 968 unsold for the six months to the end of December, a slight increase on the 947 for the six months to the end of June 2015. Nationwide, more than 18,500 shared ownership completions are expected in the next 18 months. Read more on Inside Housing.