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This is our take on recent news in the mortgage market. Our views are often cited in several national publications, including; BBC News, The Times, Telegraph, City AM, FT Adviser and Daily Mail, as well as a number of key trade publications, so this should keep you ahead of the curve. If you have any questions on any of these stories, or would like further information, please do not hesitate to get in touch.
At a glance:
Border closure could lead to a big rush for second homes and holiday lets
The news that the government are on the verge of tightening restrictions will come as no surprise to anyone and there have been calls for this to be the case and for us to follow an ‘Australian’ model since the start of the pandemic. With travellers potentially facing having to pay for their own quarantine for 10 days at UK borders, this will likely put a stop to most people going abroad for a summer holiday.
Large mortgage enquiries continue as does an increase in self-builds
We have seen no signs in the higher value end of the mortgage market slowing down with many £1m plus mortgage enquiries since the New Year. We believe this links to the fact working from home and limited travel are seemingly now the norm, wealthy buyers are snapping up larger properties with facilities to weather the Covid storm and enhance their lifestyles.
Expat mortgages: Borrowers stopped due to the red, white and blue tape of Brexit
We have recently had clients who are British expats residing in the EU turned away for a standard residential mortgage in the UK by lenders who were, until recently, very active in this space of the market. This is regardless of the strength of the case and appears to be a blanket change in policy,
with one client, working in the pharmaceutical sector with significant income and assets, both liquid and property, being rejected by several lenders. His work has granted him the opportunity to move back to the UK on the same income package so they were planning to buy a property to move back into but have been rejected by several lenders who a few weeks ago would have almost certainly accepted the case.
The mortgage market continues to open, and processing times start to get back to normal…
Further good news for low deposit borrowers and first-time buyers as the mortgage market continues to open-up, with Santander back at 90% and Nationwide re-launching 40-year terms increasing affordability. There have also been further rate cuts with HSBC reducing all rates across all LTVs. Processing times with mainstream lenders are now getting back to pre-Covid levels too, with specialist lenders and building societies still taking longer than would be normal, but speeding up nonetheless.