Bank of England: Mortgage Market Boomed Back in 2020

The latest Bank of England Money & Credit (Mortgage) data was published this morning showing that a combination of Brexit lethargy in the closing stages of 2019 and Boris Johnson’s landslide General Election win saw a major bounce back for mortgage approvals in January.

During November and the first half of December, many people sought to get their houses in order before the nation went to the polls. Once the General Election result was in even more people started to make their move.

Homeowners and prospective buyers alike are wary of future house price rises and are seeking to buy a property before the market moves against them.

People are also locking into the exceptional fixed rates currently available which are still around and going nowhere fast. What we are seeing now are lenders dipping in and out of the top of the best buy tables, cutting rates a tad one week, then increasing them a little a couple of weeks later. This process is repeated amongst several of the top lenders so at any one time a different lender may have the cheapest rate than you thought the week before.

The big question is how long the Boris Bounce lasts, as while there is a sense of optimism at present that could fade very quickly if trade negotiations turn sour.

The hope is that Brexit is now firmly behind us but there is still the potential for significant volatility as the year progresses.

Mortgage rates are still crazily low and not set to go anywhere else for the foreseeable future. For standard residential mortgages, borrowers can obtain 2-year fixes at 1.14%, (3.77% APRC) and 5-year fixes from 1.41%, (3.14% APRC) whilst variable tracker rates are around from 1.24%, (3.75% APRC).

Those looking at Buy-To-Let can now obtain products from just 1.19%, (4.54% APRC) for 2-year fixed or 5-year fixes are available from 1.64% (4.08% APRC).