House Prices
According to the Halifax House Price Index, property prices across the UK continue to rise. March saw an increase of 1.4% with an annual change of 11%. These increases are down to limited housing supply and strong demand. These factors are still prevalent but whether this trend continues remains to be seen given that households face a significant squeeze on disposable income.
Mortgage Interest Rates
Mortgage rates are still low despite the recent increases in the Bank of England Base rate to 0.75%. With a 40% deposit/equity, Fixed rates can be found just above 2%. At the other end of the scale and just a 5% deposit/equity, Fixed rates are still available for below 3%! Whether rates will remain this low remains to be seen. The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee are tasked with keeping inflation under control and the Base rate is one tool they use to achieve this.
Criteria
Most qualifying criteria for obtaining a mortgage has been eased in recent months with overtime, bonuses, investment income all often accepted as an income source. However, with the cost of living increasing at an alarming rate, affordability is now a hot topic amongst lenders. They understand the pressures households are under and do not want customers over stretching themselves.
Buy To Let (BTL)
The BTL market has seen significant changes over the last few years especially with how tax relief has changed with regard to rental income and mortgage costs. Another change is coming with the introduction of the Minimum Energy Efficiency Standard (MEES). This requires landlords to reach an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating of C and above by 2025 for all newly rented properties and 2028 for the rest. This could prove to be very costly for existing landlords and worth noting if you are considering buying your first BTL property. There are many lenders in the BTL market and fortunately this results in competitive rates.
Later Life Lending
Available to the 55’s and over, later life lending is still booming. Many are looking to this to help out children/grandchildren to get on the property ladder, but the funds can be used for many reasons such as paying off an interest only mortgage or other debt, buy a new car, house improvements or even holidays. This type of lending used to have a poor reputation but products have been developed to alleviate the concerns of many and with interest rates so low, there has never been a better time to consider this option.
Here at Blake and Day, we are registered for all types of mortgages, later life lending and additional borrowing. Please contact Mark with any enquiries you might have and he will be more than happy to help you.
Recent Comments