Mortgage Competition Hots Up And Rates Fall To Under 1%.

Homebuyers are being offered mortgages with interest rates below 1% for the first time in almost four years. Now experts say they could fall even further, as competition among banks and building societies heats up. The best-buy rate for both remortgagors and homebuyers is 0.99% on a two-year deal. Financial data firm Moneyfacts says there have not been cheaper five-year fixed-rate mortgages on offer for at least 14 years. The best deals are firmly targeted at those with large deposits, particularly those remortgaging, and some borrowers may find that lenders’ strict criteria locks them out of the lowest rates. For someone with a 10% deposit, the best-buy rate is considerably higher at 3.09%. Read more on the Observer website.

Mortgage competition hots up and rates fall to under 1%. For some | Money | The Guardian 

Final Rush Begins As Stamp Duty Holiday Ends In Under Ten Weeks

 With the stamp duty holiday extension ending on Wednesday 30th June, home buyers now have just under ten weeks, to complete their purchases. Amidst an already feverish property market, the ticking clock of the stamp duty holiday is set to turn the heat up further as the time period left is just under the 77 days that the average property purchase takes to complete. According to research by MoneySuperMarket, the average purchase for a first-time buyer takes 99 days to complete; home movers take 88 days to complete; while those re-mortgaging take 71 days. Read more on the Property Reporter website.

https://www.propertyreporter.co.uk/property/final-rush-begins-as-stamp-duty-holiday-ends-in-under-ten-weeks.html

Remortgage Activity At ‘New Normal’ After Social Gathering Rules

Remortgage instructions have fallen by 20% since the government unveiled its restrictions on social gatherings in mid-March. Since then volumes have been fairly steady at a lower level. Tighter lending criteria, consumer income reduction & unemployment, and loss of all physical contact are all having an impact. The research comes from conveyancing solutions provider LMS, which is publishing a weekly update of remortgage activity during the crisis. Read more on the Property Wire website.

https://www.propertywire.com/news/remortgage-activity-at-new-normal-after-social-gathering-rules

Remortgaging Activity Surges Amid Coronavirus Outbreak

According to a new report from Mojo Mortgages, remortgaging has become the UK’s biggest financial concern following a series of coronavirus-rate cuts, following the online broker witnessing a 100% rise in remortgage applications in the past two weeks. Alongside this application increase, online searches for the term ‘remortgage’ is up by 60%, as more customers look for the best deals to refinance their homes whilst rates remain at a historic low. Read more on the Property Reporter website.

https://www.propertyreporter.co.uk/finance/remortgaging-activity-surges-amid-coronavirus-outbreak.html

Buy-To-Let Business To Continue Growth Into 2020

UK bank, Paragon, has forecast that 2020 will see further increased activity from portfolio landlords and other complex buy-to-let business as recent tax changes continue to force landlords to look for more efficient ways to structure their business. According to Paragon’s Director of Sales, Moray Hulme, intermediaries will refocus on purchase business in the buy-to-let market, following a significant increase in the popularity of longer-term fixes since 2015 reducing remortgage opportunities. Read more on the Property Reporter website.

https://www.propertyreporter.co.uk/finance/complex-buy-to-let-business-to-continue-growth-into-2020-claims-paragon.html

Fleeced On The Freehold

Up to 1.3 million homeowners could be trapped in freehold contracts that tie them to rising and unregulated fees. Many new-build estate residents who already pay council tax are being charged uncapped 'management fees' if their local authority does not take on the upkeep of the area. Campaigners are calling it 'the new leasehold scandal' and say homeowners are now struggling to sell or remortgage. Read more on Mailonline.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/money/mortgageshome/article-7601941/Toxic-leaseholds-banned-firms-cashing-freeholds.html

First-Time Buyer Numbers Hit ‘Twelve-Year High’

The number of first-time buyer mortgages in August 2019 edged towards the highest monthly total since August 2007, according to the latest data from UK finance. The figures follow the MHCLG’s own research revealing 87% of the public would prefer to buy, rather than rent, a home. It also found 57% of people support the building of new homes in their own community, up from 28% in 2010. During the month there were 18,640 new remortgages with additional borrowing, down 2.9% on 2018, with the extra amount borrowed reaching an average of £55,000, according to the latest data. Read more on 24housing.

https://www.24housing.co.uk/news/first-time-buyer-numbers-hit-twelve-year-high/

Remortgaging Rises As Home Buyer Activity Slows In The UK

There was a rise of 8.3% in remortgaging in the UK in June 2019, with some 16,880 new mortgages completed in this sector of the lending market, the latest industry figures show. The data from UK Finance also shows that there were 32,760 new first time buyer mortgages completed in June 2019, down 1.5% fewer than in the same month in 2018 while there were 31,000 home mover mortgages, down 3.6% year on year. There were 5,300 new buy to let home purchase mortgages completed, down 3.6% that in the same month last year and there were 12,500 remortgages in the buy to let sector, down 0.8%. Read more on the Property Wire website.

https://www.propertywire.com/news/uk/remortgaging-rises-as-home-buyer-activity-slows-in-the-uk/

Mortgage And Remortgage Approvals Slip During In May

The latest statistics from the Bank of England have revealed that, during May, house purchase mortgage approvals fell back to 65,400 after April's strong numbers. According to the figures, the number of approvals for remortgaging also dipped in May, to 46,700. Net mortgage borrowing by households fell to £3.1 billion in May, the smallest increase since April 2017. However the annual growth rate for mortgage lending remained stable at 3.2%, and has now been around 3% since late 2016. Read more on the Property Reporter website.

https://www.propertyreporter.co.uk/finance/mortgage-and-remortgage-approvals-slip-during-in-may.html

Lenders Cut Mortgage Rates To Give A Kick-Start To 2019

First-time buyers and homeowners remortgaging their properties have been given some good news at the start of the year as a number of lenders have cut their rates in an increasingly competitive market. Last week HSBC dropped rates on 31 different mortgages while the market-leading product for a 10-year fixed-rate loan also went down. The cuts come at a time when the outlook for property sales is at the lowest level for two decades. A report from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) said that the looming threat of Brexit had dragged down the UK property market further, with prices falling at the fastest rate in six years. Read more on the Observer website.

https://www.theguardian.com/money/2019/jan/20/brexit-gloom-property-mortgage-rates-cut

UK Homeowners Rush To Remortgage Amid Brexit Uncertainty

Remortgaging activity has surged to a near-decade high as Britain’s homeowners rush to lock into low-rate loans amid uncertainty over Brexit. Homeowners remortgaged loans to the value of £9.2bn in October, the highest monthly total since November 2008, when it hit £9.3bn, according to figures this week from UK Finance, which represents mortgage lenders. The number of loans they remortgaged — at 50,500 — also hit a 10-year peak since November 2008, when 68,500 were remortgaged. The remortgage market has grown sharply in recent years, filling a gap for lenders left by a dwindling appetite for new loans for home purchase in a cooling housing market. Read more on the Financial Times website.

https://www.ft.com/content/323dfa6e-feed-11e8-ac00-57a2a826423e

Landlord Remortgaging Reaches Record High

The number of landlords looking to remortgage is now at an all-time high. Paragon’s Financial Adviser Confidence Tracking (FACT) survey for the third quarter of 2018 highlights a sharp increase in the proportion of landlords remortgaging – up from 49% in the second quarter to 57% of all buy-to-let business. In contrast, the proportion of first-time landlord business fell from 14% to 10% and landlords looking for finance for portfolio expansion was down from 23% to 19% of the total. Read more on 24housing.

https://www.24housing.co.uk/news/landlord-remortgaging-reaches-record-high/

House Purchase Activity Slows In June But Remortgaging Activity Remains High

Key data highlights:

• There were 34,900 new first-time buyer mortgages completed in the month, 3.6 per cent fewer than in the same month a year earlier.
• There were 33,700 new homemover mortgages completed in the month, 7.9 per cent fewer than in the same month a year earlier.
• There were 37,400 new homeowner remortgages completed in the month, 8.4 per cent more than in the same month a year earlier.
• There were 5,400 new buy-to-let (BTL) home purchase mortgages completed in the month, 19.4 per cent fewer than in the same month a year earlier.
• There were 12,600 new BTL remortgages completed in the month of June, the same as June 2017.

Read more on the UK Finance website.

https://www.ukfinance.org.uk/house-purchase-activity-slows-in-june-but-remortgaging-activity-remains-high/

Remortgages Reach Nine-Year High In January

The number of remortgages in January 2018 reached a nine-year high while the number of first-time buyers and home movers both increased compared to the same period in the previous year. In January 2018 there were;

·         49,800 new remortgages, some 19.1 per cent more than in the same month a year earlier.

·         24,500 new first-time buyer mortgages, some 7 per cent more than in the same month a year earlier.

·         25,000 new home mover mortgages, some 6.4 per cent more than in the same month a year earlier.

·         5,600 new buy-to-let house purchase mortgages, some 5.1 per cent fewer than in the same month a year earlier.

·         16,500 new buy-to-let remortgages, some 17.9 per cent more than in the same month a year earlier.

Read more on the UK Finance website.

https://www.ukfinance.org.uk/remortgages-in-january-2018-reach-nine-year-high/

Remortgage Approvals Hit Record High

The number of remortgage approvals being made jumped to a nine-year high just before the Bank of England base rate was hiked in November, figures show. Some 51,593 remortgage approvals were recorded by the Bank of England in October - the highest figure since October 2008. On November 2, in a move that was widely anticipated, the Bank of England base rate was raised from 0.25% to 0.5%, meaning some variable rate mortgage holders faced the prospect of higher costs. Many homeowners may have been looking to remortgage to a cheaper deal in the weeks leading up to the base rate hike. Read more n the Belfast Telegraph website.

Landlords Urged To Re-Mortgage As Tougher Lending Criteria Begin To Bite

Landlords are being urged to re-mortgage before tougher buy-to-let lending criteria, due to be introduced in September, make it more difficult to obtain finance. The call comes as the proportion of buy-to-let re-mortgage transactions, as a share of the total lending market, has risen over the last few months, and as a diminishing demand for new buy to let loans has driven many lenders to slash mortgage rates. The National Landlords Association (NLA) says the rise in re-mortgages is down to landlords looking to limit their exposure to the new buy to let tax regime. Read more on the NLA website.

First-Time Buyer Activity Continues To Grow In June

On a non-seasonally adjusted basis, UK Finance data shows that mortgage lending in June rose:

• First-time buyers borrowed £5.9bn, up 26% on the previous month and 9% on June 2016.
• Home movers borrowed £7.8bn, up 26% on May and 15% year-on-year.
• Home-owner remortgage activity totalled £6bn, up 5% by value on May and 7% on a year ago.
• Gross buy-to-let totalled £3.0bn, up 3% on May and up 3% compared to June 2016.

Read more on the UK Finance website.

Home Buyers Up 12% In May Compared To April

On a non-seasonally adjusted basis, UK Finance data shows that mortgage lending in May rose:

·         Home buyers borrowed £10.8bn, up 10% on April and 16% on May 2016.

·         Within this, first-time buyers borrowed £4.7bn, up 12% both on last month and on May 2016.

·         Home movers borrowed £6.2bn, up 11% on April and 22% year-on-year.

·         Home-owner remortgage activity was up 10% by value and 9% by volume on April.

·         Gross buy-to-let totalled £2.9bn in May, up 16% on April and 12% compared to May last year.

Read more on the UK Finance website.

Era Of Cheap Mortgages Is Almost Over

Mortgage rates have hit rock bottom and can only go up, the Council of Mortgage Lenders has warned. Households are currently benefiting from the cheapest home loans on record after a fierce mortgage price war between lenders. This has caused a surge in remortgaging as families across the country rushed to snap up cheaper deals. It has also helped more first-time buyers get on the property market. These two groups have driven the housing market as a slowdown in house price rises, and falls in parts of the country, have made existing homeowners reluctant to sell. But the CML suggested the era of record low mortgages may be coming to an end. Read more on the Daily Mail website.

Housing Market Slows As Homemover Figures Slump

Valuations from home sellers have fallen steadily from 45% of the market in May 2010, down to just 27% in May 2017 as homeowners lack incentives to move, according to data from Connells Survey & Valuation. The research shows that a shortage of homes on the market, Stamp Duty impacts at higher levels and the extended economic uncertainty have discouraged homeowners. Conversely, remortgaging now represents 23% of all valuations – a 2 percentage point increase month-on-month and a record for May. Read more on the Financial Reporter website.