A recent report has indicated that the traditional 95% mortgage, with just a 5% deposit from the borrower, is becoming increasingly difficult to find. Until the onset of the credit crunch borrowers could easily get 95% mortgages, 100% mortgages, and even 125% mortgages, but over the past year all of this has changed. The 125% mortgage was the first to disappear as a result of the conditions stemming from the global credit crunch, and this was quickly followed by the 100% mortgage. (more…)

There is little doubt that the mortgage market in the UK is still reeling from the havoc caused by the global credit crunch, which made its way across the Atlantic last summer, leaving a trail of destruction in its path. The mortgage industry has been suffering for a year now, with lenders unable to raise funds to finance their mortgage lending operations, and consumers unable to get the finance that they need to buy a property, thus leading to ongoing problems in the housing market. (more…)

A recent report has shown that there was a slight upturn in mortgage lending for the month of July, with mortgage lending levels said to have risen by 5%. Mortgage lending levels have been in decline for some months as a result of the global credit crunch which has seen a reduction in mortgage products on the market, as well as resulting in lenders putting far tighter lending criteria into place. In addition to this falling house prices and the threat of negative equity coupled with lack of affordability has resulted in fewer people making mortgage applications. (more…)

A recent report showed how mortgage approval levels for new home buyers in the UK plummeted in May, further reflecting the ongoing housing and mortgage slump that has come about as a result of the global credit crunch. House prices have been falling for some months now, and mortgage availability has been getting tighter Officials have said that these figures indicate that things will get worse before they start to get better.
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The Internet bank first direct, which is part of the High Street banks, HSBC, has recently launched a new mortgage product that may prove of interest to some people that are looking to remortgage. The new offset loan has been described as a market leading fee free loan. This is a base rate tracker offset mortgage, and the interest rate is set at 0.99% above the base interest rate for the life of the loan. Consumers can also benefit from the offset feature, which could help them to save money on interest on the loan. (more…)

The Spanish owned high street lender, Abbey, as recently reported that it has increased its share of the UK mortgage market dramatically over recent months, and this has resulted in the lender becoming the number one mortgage lender in the nation, overtaking the Halifax. Since the onset of the global credit crunch many UK lenders have struggled to raise finances to fund their mortgage lending operations, but because Abbey is Spanish owned it has been able to turn to European sources for funding, increasing its liquidity. (more…)

According to a recent report released by the British Banker’s Association, mortgage approval levels for May slumped this year, falling to the lowest level on record. The figures show that the number of mortgage approved in May fell to under 28,000, and this was a drop of 20% compared to April. The May figure was around 56% lower than the same month last year, and is indicative of the huge problems that have hit the mortgage sector following the inset of the global credit crunch. (more…)

According to recent figures consumers in the UK are still paying a fortune to take out a mortgage, even though the swap rates, which are indicative of interest rates on mortgages, have come down slightly. A number of lenders have cut the interest rates on some of their mortgage products over the past couple of weeks, but officials have said that the cost of mortgages is still running high for consumers. (more…)