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Mortgage Market In Rude Health

10.06.14

This week no doubt there will be more talk about the World Cup than anything else, as the focus shifts effortlessly from house prices to football.

Ignoring the guff and bluster in the press at the moment, after all the average economist has an appalling record of predicting anything correctly over the past few years, the mortgage market is in surprisingly fine fettle at the moment and, much like the England team, is anchored by a couple of old stalwarts and flanked by some exciting new talent.

OK maybe that is pushing the analogy a touch too far, but nevertheless it works.

There are more lenders and products available than there have been since the credit crunch and despite what you read, lenders are keen to lend. The Mortgage Market Review has landed and is not the end of the world the usual doom-mongers predicted, but has levelled the playing field between the direct branch lenders and mortgage brokers, ensuring that everyone gets proper advice.

In fact, it has proved to be better for brokers as direct to market lenders just do not have the fully trained man-power to meet the demand and offer appointments quickly, something brokers are used to doing. We have heard stories of very long processes in branches with interviews between 3 and 6 hours!

It has been interesting to see that despite all the talk of rate rises, 2 year fixes have stayed pretty close to 2% and 5 year fixes are still just over the 3% level, good in any market.

Love or hate Help-To-Buy, but it has helped to improve sentiment and given lenders the comfort to launch more products available at 90% and 95% LTV giving buyers some real choice once more, all at very decent rates.

The Buy To Let market is thriving with more lenders falling over themselves to provide ever more competitive products as they see this as a sector of growing importance and remortgages are poised to make a dramatic last 20 minutes impact this year after being benched for a while as we get closer to rate rises.

With house prices looking like they may have started to level, a bit more supply on the market, the sun starting to shine and England look strangely relaxed going into the World Cup it is a time to reflect on the positives.

Keep smiling, it is going to be a good summer!

 

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Andrew Montlake

Written by Andrew Montlake

Andrew Montlake, better known as Monty, began his journey with an Hons degree in Economics & Politics before starting in the mortgage industry in February 1994. As a main founder of Coreco in 2009, he successfully grew the brand, marketing, and communications, and was made MD in 2019 focussing on the overall vision, strategy, and culture of the company. As Coreco’s media spokesperson, Andrew can often be seen or heard on TV and radio as well as regularly commenting in the national, local, and trade press. He is the author of this acclaimed Mortgage Blog and is well-known for his social media, podcasts, and public speaking. Andrew is now proud to serve as Chairman of the Association of Mortgage Intermediaries, (AMI) as a cheerleader for the Mortgage Industry as a whole and continues to work at the coal face, writing mortgage business and advising clients.

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