Net mortgage lending hits lowest level in 8 years

Friday, 10 July 2009 00:00

The average value of mortgages has fallen to £129,100 in May reflecting decreasing house prices in the past year or so despite the number of approved loans rising in recent months. As a result net mortgage lending has hit the lowest level in eight years and credit facilities remain tightly controlled with only borrowers with large amounts of equity able to get the best deals.

However with falling house prices and with Bank of England interest rates remaining at historic lows, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors has said that enquiries from new buyers rose in April, which is the sixth consecutive month of growth.

More and more alternative methods of purchasing property are coming to the fore as a result, ranging from shared equity leases and the various home buy schemes, to mortgage lenders whose product is available to buyers as long as their parents maintain a certain amount of funds in a separate account.

If you are buying property, each of the home buy schemes (social, new build and open market) has its own eligibility criteria, although if you are a key worker, a council or housing association tenant or a first time buyer, it may well be worth your while to find out whether you can benefit from one of the schemes.

If you are selling property remember that you now need a Home Information Pack in place before you can place your property on the market and the HIP now has a new compulsory component - the Property Information Questionnaire.

Whether you are buying, selling, require a HIP or if you would simply like more information please contact your nearest Tozers office or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it