Monty’s Mortgage Blog

Tag Archives: Housing Market

Tin Hats & Bayonets

By Andrew Montlake | Published: 05.12.11

Ever since the issues first engulfed our industry 4 years ago I seem to be fed up of saying, “wow, that was an extraordinary week” and last week was no exception.

It began with some positives from the previous week; UK growth was confirmed at 0.5% in the 3rd quarter of this year and the Government launched its much anticipated Housing Strategy, pulling together a range of announcements with a couple of new ones to try to stimulate growth and return some confidence back to the house building industry.

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Posted in Coreco, European Union, First Time Buyers, House Prices, Housing Strategy, Independent Mortgage Advice, Large Mortgage Loans, Mortgage Blog, Mortgage Brokers in London, Regulation, The Economy | Also tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Does anyone really care about the base rate anymore?

By Andrew Montlake | Published: 25.11.11

Let’s face it; there is more chance of Sepp Blatter becoming the next England manager than the Bank of England changing their rate from the 0.5% low at present. But as has been the case for many a month now, the rate itself is not the real issue, it is everything else that is happening around it and boy there is a lot going on.

The Euro turmoil is starting to affect the biggest countries in the EU now, and for the first time in around a decade the UK is now able to borrow on cheaper terms than Germany. German 10 year government debt rates increased to 2.21% whilst the UK, relishing it’s new found “safe-haven” status, sits at a mere 2.16%.

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Posted in Bank Base Rate, Best Fixed Rates, Best Mortgage Rates, Coreco, Economic Recovery, European Union, GDP Figures, Large Mortgage Loans, Mortgage Brokers in London, Professional Mortgage Brokers, Remortgage | Also tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Snap Out Of It, Mr Shapps!

By Andrew Montlake | Published: 24.10.11

When I read that Mr Shapps, who I actually like, had made a speech within which he called for 30 year fixed rate mortgages I must admit my shoulders sagged a touch.

My first reaction was if that was the best idea he can come up with then we are all up the proverbial creek without a you know what. In reverting back to an oft tried and never achieved call for 30 year mortgages we suddenly saw that actually, no one in power at least, seems to really get the issues.

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Posted in Best Fixed Rates, Best Mortgage Rates, Coreco, Interest Rates, Large Mortgage Loans, Mortgage Advice, Mortgage Brokers in London, Mortgage Funding, Mortgages, Professional Mortgage Brokers, Property Market, The Economy | Also tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Half A Glass…

By Andrew Montlake | Published: 02.09.11

At a time when negative headlines dominate the economic landscape it is hard not to notice that consumer confidence has taken a battering in recent weeks. Talk of a double-dip recession is on many economists’ lips and whether this is caused by a struggling manufacturing sector, a European crisis that is nowhere near over or issues in the US, China or whatever, the myriad of reasons being thrown up by all and sundry has almost become unimportant to the consumer.

In truth the average consumer still feels like nothing has really changed, the technicalities of a recession are unimportant, it is how they feel and for most, things still feel tight.

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Posted in Bank Base Rate, Best Fixed Rates, Best Mortgage Rates, Building Societies, Coreco, Economic Recovery, First Time Buyers, Independent Mortgage Advice, Large Mortgage Loans, Mortgage Blog, Mortgage Brokers in London, Mortgage Market, Property Market, The Economy | Also tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

First-Time Buyers: Retreating or Returning?

By Andrew Montlake | Published: 15.08.11

First-Time Buyers have been in the news this week with a report from the Council of Mortgage Lenders, (CML), stating that last month saw a 10 month high in the numbers of first timers purchasing, although still down from this time last year.

This was contradicted by a Rightmove report that stated that First-Time numbers were dropping seriously, with only 23% of those looking to buy in the next 12 months being first timers, whilst 7 out of the 11 UK regions now in “first-time buyer blackspot” territory. The exception was of course London, which was still holding up.

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Posted in Best Mortgage Rates, Coreco, First Time Buyers, Large Mortgage Loans, Mortgage Blog, Mortgage Brokers in London, Mortgage Rates | Also tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment