Weekly Mortgage Market Update

Welcome to this weeks’ Mortgage Market update.

As the nonsense in and around Westminster increases to fever pitch, we are often asked loads of questions by the press about the general market. I thought I would share a couple of the answers we have given to the press over the last couple of weeks.

Is now a good time to buy/sell?

For me, there is never a good or bad time to buy and trying to play the market is always fraught with danger. You should always remember that you are buying a home rather than a short-term investment and property is a long-term play.

Saying that however, it is a buyers’ market now and there are some good deals to be done which canny buyers are taking advantage of. People wanting to sell now generally cannot afford to wait and I believe it is a good time to buy, especially with interest rates so competitive.

Should I wait until after Brexit?

It is pointless to put off doing something if you want or need to buy now. Brexit could go two ways and even with our politicians trying their hardest to make things even more messy than they need to be, there is a good chance now will be a better time to buy than after. As with any deal, these things tend to be sorted out at the 11th hour and once there is certainty of any kind, you could see a bounce as consumers release pent up demand.

This may mean that interest rates and house prices rise in the wake of some kind of positive outcome and all those waiting for prices to crash will end up disappointed.

Mortgage rate wise things are still pretty much the same. For standard residential mortgages, borrowers can obtain 2-year fixes at 1.39%, (4.80% APRC) and 5-year fixes from 1.80%, (3.36% APRC) whilst variable tracker rates are around from 1.34%, (3.82% APRC).

Those looking at Buy-To-Let can still obtain products from just 1.44%, (4.44% APRC) for a 2-year tracker or 5-year fixes are available from 1.99% (4.06% APRC).