Brokers argue that AIPs are now ‘worthless’ with frequent changes to criteria, widening variations in affordability calculations between lenders and between income brackets, as well as approved loan amounts quickly becoming out-of-date.
Foundation Home Loans expands green BTL mortgage range for both limited companies and individuals with two-year discounted products added to its ABC+ green mortgage range. This is for both remortgage and purchase.
Principality Building Society ups mortgage loan to income for newly qualified professionals to 5.5x across its entire range of standard residential mortgages. Those who have qualified as an accountant, actuary, architect, barrister, dentist, doctor, optometrist, pharmacist, solicitor or surveyor in the last five years will be eligible.
House price activity back to pre-Covid levels in Q2 but slowdown expected in coming months as the cost-of-living pressures are likely to dampen effective demand for house purchases in the coming months. However, remortgaging should remain buoyant with around £100bn of mortgages set to mature by the end of 2022. — UK Finance.
Most UK borrowers are locking in their mortgage rates, as rises loom with 95.5% of new buyers and 84.9% of homeowners taking out fixed-rate mortgages. — Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
Holiday let popularity sees mortgage choice widen as the number of available products has grown from 186 in September 2021 to 320 (+72%). Also, the number of lenders offering these products has grown from 25 to 31 over the same period. — Moneyfacts.
Number of £5m-plus mortgages increased by nearly two-thirds in 2021, rising from 169 in 2020 to 279 as investors took advantage of the low-rate environment. Rates of around 1% were available for prime and super prime properties. — We Buy Any Home.
UK banks loosen key mortgage rules with some banks' lending against higher income multiples. Lloyds will consider future bonuses for high earners and HSBC has raised the share of a borrower’s variable pay that it will lend against from 50% to 60%.
Second charge market set to surpass £1.75bn in lending in 2022, a post-financial crisis record. Lending totalled £166.5m in August, a 3.2% rise in July and 74% annually. — Loans Warehouse.
FCA publishes Mortgage Lending Statistics for Q2 2022. The key highlights are:
Suffolk Building Society begins 'phased return' to lending, starting with self-build and expat borrowers. It had halted mortgage applications in August due to pressures at its pipeline and service levels.
Skipton extends products switch deadline from three to six months before maturity, considering the ongoing cost-of-living crisis.
94% brokers expect specialist mortgage market to grow over the next two years with the top-five niche segments in research by UTB predicted to be:
Lenders pull fixed rate deals amid economic uncertainty. Halifax, The Nottingham, Clydesdale Bank and Leeds Building Society were among those withdrawing products, as markets reacted to the tax-cutting measures announced by the Chancellor.
Multiple lenders stop offering mortgage products as Kwasi meltdown continues. Virgin Money and Skipton Building Society temporarily withdrew mortgage products for new customers due to uncertainty. A flurry of re pricing is also taking place with Shaw Financial Services reporting the first 6%+ clean credit mortgage rate for over seven years.
Mortgage lenders pull products and phones jam as borrowers flock to fix amidst concerns that 6% interest rates may be unaffordable. — Quilter.
Mortgage product choice falls by nearly 300 in space of a day, following Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng’s mini Budget announcing a range of tax cuts. Lenders have been temporarily pulling their new business products to reprice them due to the falling pound, soaring swap rates and base rate rises — Moneyfacts.
Record 935 products pulled in market turmoil, as volatile markets continue to react to the government’s mini budget. The previous highest fall of 462 products was on April 1, 2020, at the start of the pandemic lockdowns.
Nearly 3,000 mortgage products withdrawn and over 20 providers have withdrawn their entire fixed rate mortgage ranges in a dramatic week for the mortgage market. — Defaqto.
Brokers ‘swamped’ by clients willing to pay to leave fixed rates following the market turmoil, in some cases even where there are a couple of years left on their existing deal.
Searches for ‘remortgage’ and 'mortgage help' explode, rising by over 200% each, based on Google Analytics. — Loan Corp.
Redwood Bank enters the mortgage market with two- and three-year loans for business customers for secured residential investment or secured commercial property loans.
Third of borrowers want long-term remortgages as living costs rise, and 19% of homeowners are also considering remortgaging before the end of their current fixed-term regardless of early repayment charges to lock into a new fixed rate deal. — Comparethemarket.
Experts predict Bank of England's base rate to peak around 5.90% in June 2023, causing the maximum-income multiple offered by banks to fall from m 4.7 in August 2022 to 3.7 within months, as well as increasing payments for existing mortgage holders.
Very few offerings under 5% expected by start of October. “The huge rise in gilt yields means lenders have to reprice mortgages very significantly” said Ray Boulger from broker John Charcol.
Product withdrawal - fallout from mini Budget continues as Bank of England hints that it would be raising interest rates even higher, possibly to 4.5% by December and to 6% by next year. Estimates saying that mortgage payments could rise by up to £800 per month, or £9,600 annually.
Mortgage searches soar 20% as products drop 17%, driven by remortgage enquires, stamp duty changes and market turmoil. — Twenty7Tec.
Mortgage prisoners could face rates over 9% in the current economic climate, according to campaigner Rachel Neale, who has sent a letter to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and government to enforce fairer rates.
Net mortgage borrowing increases to £6.1bn in August from £5.1bn in July, still above the pre-pandemic average of £4.3bn in the year to February 2020. Gross lending showed little change last month at £25.4bn, down from £26bn in July. Mortgage approvals for house purchases increased sharply to 74,300 from 63,700 whilst, remortgage approvals continued to increase in August to 49,400 up from 48,400 in July.
Borrower willing to take £40,000 hit in scramble to avoid looming rate hike. The investment analyst has been willing to pay the fee to exit their current 1.11% deal, which is due to come to an end in February 2024, and to secure a new seven-year fixed rate at 3.18%. — Michael Aldridge, Lucra Mortgages.
Fixes jump after the mini budget. According to Moneyfacts, in the last week of September the average:
