The frustration felt by many individuals that banks still do not seem to be lending in sufficient quantities is still evident in the latest Lending To Individuals figures from the Bank of England, which explains the frustration felt by many would-be borrowers.
Just 47,643 loans were approved for house purchases and a mere 29,949 loans for remortgages meaning that both sets of figures have now dropped below their previous 6 months average.
First-time buyers have every right to feel discriminated against, as while mortgage lending has become more profitable for many lenders, it is too often targeted at those customers who are already well catered for. Lenders are continuing to walk the easy path.
Posted in Bank of England Lending Figures, Best Mortgage Rates, Coreco, First Time Buyers, House Prices, Mortgage Brokers in London, Property Market | Also tagged Bank of England, First Time Buyers, House Prices, Housing Market, Mortgage Market, Property Market |
For those of you who think times are more than a little tough at the moment, the news that there are still major fears about the strength of the European Banking System, is not really what you will want to hear.
However, this week sees the release of a major report involving the “stress-testing” on a range of European Banks to determine their health and, perhaps more importantly, whether they are in a position to cope if anything goes seriously wrong again. These “detailed” tests have been undertaken on 91 banks, including names such as Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank in Germany, HSBC and Barclays in the UK, as well as Societe Generale and BNP Paribas in France.
Posted in Coreco, Credit Crunch, Economic Recovery, Inflation, Interest Rates, Mortgage Market, The Economy | Also tagged Bank of England, Credit Crunch, Economy, House Prices, Mortgage Market, mortgage products |
The latest rumblings of discontent around the financial community have been centred around the issues that beset Dubai, the land where dreams have been built, quite literally, in the sand.
Unfortunately, the sand seems to be capricious ground at best, and another wave of banking losses have been predicted, with reports of anything around the $40 to $50 billion level being the amount that European banks are exposed to. Then again what’s this piddly amount between friends after the recent figures we have seen bandied around?
A week may be a long time in politics, but in the lending market at the moment a week can represent a complete transformation in product choice that would normally evolve over a long period of time.
In a short space of time we have seen the return of some welcome elements of competition which, together with a fall in the cost of funds, has pushed product rates down. Some lenders, such as a re-invigorated Woolwich, have cut their rates by up to 0.6%, whilst others such as a totally reformed Northern Rock, have made an aggressive play to dominate the Best Buy charts.
With fixed rates having risen in recent weeks and now looking a tad overpriced, especially for longer term fixes, tracker products are booming again due to headline rates with a “1” at the start.
Whilst HSBC have stolen all the headlines with their 1.99% lowest rate ever malarkey, (actually the lowest rate I remember was 0% for 6 months!), Woolwich have quietly taken up the fight and slipped in a stepped tracker product starting at 1.98% !
Andrew Montlake, Communications Director at Coreco and ‘Mortgage Personality of the Year 2008’, gives his views — honest and no holds barred — on the latest developments within the mortgage and property markets.
