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Property Market Resilience

29.03.22

Welcome to another week of wonder in our fine industry.

There have been a few interesting reports out in the past week that show the resilience of the property market. Zoopla, for example, reported that demand for houses was up a staggering 65% against the 5-year average, with demand for family homes “more than twice as high as usual for Q1”.

They also found that supply was starting to improve slightly, and whilst house price growth is expected to ease substantially in the second half of the year there is every indication that transaction levels will continue to move back to pre-pandemic levels, “resulting in 1.2 million transactions this year”.

Net mortgage borrowing dipped slightly in February as did the number of mortgage approvals for house purchases, though the value of these increased. Approvals for remortgages increased as did the average interest rate paid on new mortgages.

All of this is to be expected given the current conditions but looking with a helicopter view at all these reports it looks like we have a more stable and sustainable housing market rather than one helped with artificial Government stimulus. This should bode well for the immediate future – Russian invasions aside!

There were also a couple of reports that showed how much professional mortgage advisers are needed at present. Moneypenny observed that Financial Services over the past 3 months saw an increase in call volumes by 30%, with customers actively wanting to speak to a real person, not a robot, in-depth about their finances. This is especially true as the cost of living continues to rise and they need proper advice and reassurance.

We also saw a report that showed that 92% of Mortgage Brokers are seeing borrowers with more complex circumstances, where the high street lenders and people’s existing banks are just not programmed to serve. This is where brokers such as Coreco really can make the difference between a sale proceeding or not.

Rate wise we are still seeing last-minute rate changes from lenders trying to battle both the money markets and consumer demand as some start to struggle with service levels. Although, as you can see below, rates are still up dramatically from where they were several months ago, there are still some good deals out there.

We do also have a secret rate! Not available to all brokers, we do have a lender offering 1.05%, (3.60% APRC) for a 2-Year fixed or 1.37%, (3.10% APRC) for a 5-Year fixed though this is only available on houses with a valid EPC or PEA rating of A-C and only in certain postcodes outside London.

Shhh, don’t tell everyone 😊

Have a great week!

Best Mortgage Rates

In terms of mortgage rates, for standard residential mortgages, borrowers can obtain 2-year fixes at 1.93% (4.20% APRC) and 5-year fixes from 2.04%, (3.10% APRC) whilst variable tracker rates are around from 1.50%, (3.80% APRC).

Those looking at Buy-To-Let can now obtain products from 1.59%, (4.50% APRC) for 2-year fixed or 5-year fixes are available from 1.96% (3.70% APRC).

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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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