Mortgage approvals hit eight-month high in June
The latest figures from the Bank of England reveal that net mortgage approvals for house purchases increased from 51,100 in May to 54,700 in June, while approvals for remortgaging rose from 34,100 to 39,100 during the same period. The approvals came despite high street lenders raising mortgage rates in May.
The Times reports that consumer lending on unsecured credit also rose, increasing rapidly in five years to £1.66 billion as activity in other parts of the economy increased. The rise was driven by an uplift in lending on personal loans and car finance from £500 million in May to £1 billion in June.
Aaron Strutt, product director at Trinity Financial, says: "We are still getting calls for buyers with offers accepted, lots to homeowners remortgaging or others keen to get mortgage advice. The mortgage market is arguably more complex than it has ever been. Borrowers want expert advice to get the most suitable and cost-effective deals.
"With the buy-to-let market under considerable strain and so many people trying to rent a limited amount of properties, first-time buyers are still keen to get on the property ladder. Homeowners also constantly need to move for work, family reasons or downsize. Overseas buyers and Brisitsh expats are still buying properties in the UK."
Should borrowers opt for a two-year fix or tracker? Or a longer-term fixed-rate mortgage?
Many of our clients want to know whether they should take a two, three, five or even a ten-year fix or whether it makes sense to take a base rate tracker.
The Bank of England is set to hike interest rates for the 14th time in a row to a 2008 high of 5.25%, and the base rate may get even higher. With so much uncertainty in the market, fixed rates are probably more popular than ever.
If you are unsure whether you want a two or five-year fix, then a three-year fix is a good option for many. Five-year fixes tend to be more competitively priced than shorter-term fixes.
Ten-year fixed rates undercut most other fixes and trackers in the market at the moment but many high early repayment charges, which means they are expensive to get out of. However, they are generally portable. In the past, we have seen borrowers paying the early repayment fees get to switch to a cheaper deal.
Bank of England base rate trackers often do not have any early repayment charges, so they can be suitable for borrowers keen to make lump overpayments or those who think the base rate is high enough and cannot get much more expensive.
Call Trinity Financial on 020 7016 0790 to secure a mortgage or book a consultation
The information contained within this article was correct at the time of publication but is subject to change.
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