Mortgage lending nationally and here in Frimley, Camberley Surrey

In August it was 30% higher than last year. In fact it’s believed that the UK mortgage market could be well on its way to recovery as new figures have revealed that 52,000 new house purchase loans were approved in August, an increase of 7%.

The report by the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) whose members are banks, building societies and other lenders who together undertake around 94% of all residential mortgage lending in the UK said the new loans were worth £7.9 billion in total.

They also said that monthly mortgage interest payments are now an average of 9.4% of house buyers’ incomes, the lowest rate measured since the beginning of records in 2002.

An increase has also been noted in the number of loans available for remortgaging, which have risen by a third to 34,100.
Paul Smee, director general of the CML, said: “Even though it is impossible to ignore the knocks to confidence emanating from the eurozone, August lending showed welcome signs of life.
“With those moving house experiencing a record low in the proportion of their income needed to pay their mortgage interest, it is clear that the low rate environment is a benefit to those with mortgages, even against the backdrop of the gloom in the wider economy.”

Hey, I thought we were busy, obviously it’s not just us..

So if you want any help or advice on any aspect of new mortgages or remortgages, please get in touch.

Michael

www.mumsltd.co.uk

Cheaper Mortgages in Camberley

Borrowing money has never been cheaper and thats a fact..

But at this moment you can get a mortgage with a mortgage rate of 1.99%

Now I’ll grant you that you need a 30% deposit, but that’s not a stretch for some people who can easily find this as part of their current equity on their current home.

So are you paying more that 1.99% at the moment? If you can meet the criteria laid down by the lender, it may be worth you talking to us, to see if we can save you lots of money monthly and shorten your mortgage period.

Give us a call for a no obligation chat

01276 670777

We have been rather busy recently at our Camberley office.

We have been finding mortgages for first time buyers and those who want to remortgage.

But according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders, not all advisers have been. It may be that prices have stabalised locally, despite the doom and gloom from city experts..

Here is there assessment from 14th June

“Loans for house purchase increased in April, according to data released today from the Council of Mortgage Lenders. But, with Bank of England data showing a fall in house purchase approvals in April, there could be a lull in house purchase completions in the next few months.

There were 40,900 loans, worth £5.9 billion, advanced for house purchase in April, up from 37,900, worth £5.5 billion, in March and down from 41,900, worth £6 billion, a year earlier. While this is a further increase compared to earlier in the year, house purchase activity is still below the level seen in April last year.

Remortgage lending fell in April. 24,700 remortgage loans were advanced, worth £3 billion, compared to 34,100, worth £4.1 billion, in March. This is fractionally higher than April last year.

With remortgage activity currently linked to expectations of interest rate movements, future activity will be subdued as an imminent increase in the bank rate is now looking less likely. There was also a fall in remortgage approvals in April so remortgage completions are likely to remain modest in the coming months.”

We like to think we are busy despite the current recession. A lot of our customers have been with us for years and have changed their mortgage (remortgaged) many times over last 20 years to onbtain different deals

Here’s something that caught my eye today in the Daily Mail...

“Boost for first time buyers with 10 per cent deposit as mortgage rate falls below 6 per cent for first time in three years

The average cost of a 90 per cent loan-to-value (LTV) mortgage, typically taken out by first-time buyers, is now 5.98 per cent -  0.4  per cent less than in May last year.

In a further boost to people trying to get on to the property ladder, the number of different deals available to those with only a 10  per cent deposit has soared by 41 per cent during the same period to 229″

Naturally there are better deals out there for those with a bigger deposit. If you have 20-30-50% or more then, you could expect 3.91% (40%)

But of course, only those with existing properties, will have those kind of deposits. But a lot of my existing customers are looking for and getting better deals all the time.

But, first time buyers are an ingenious bunch and they seem to find lots of ways to come up with the 10% deposit that is often required.

They borrow from parents or grand parents, or they they go out and get two or three extra jobs to help the save for a deposit.

No different now, than it was when I bought my first property back in the 80′s.

More competition please

So now there are more 10% deposit mortgage deals on the market and about time too. We need more competition in the market….That’s what drives this business and makes the banks lend at more competetive rates.

Its true there are more deals available now and if you need some help and advice, give me a call.

First time buyers in Camberley. Stop renting as soon as possible…. Why?

Because your monthly payments on a mortgage could well be less.

There are some caveats to this and I cannot give you any actual advice here, because I do not know your particular financial position.

After all, mortgages are not a “One Size Fits All Solution”, we arrange mortgages only after a personal discussion to determine what I think would be best for your situation, followed by researching the whole of the mortgage market.

But Suren Thiru, who is a housing economist at Halifax, said earlier today “a marked decline in mortgage costs has improved affordability for those able to enter the market”

He said this because, there has been a fall in mortgage rates during the last 3 years, which means that the average three bedroom property costs £608 per month to buy, compared to £709, that you may pay in rent. But in March 2008, the same 3 bedroom property, would have cost £1,060 per month, compared to £761 to rent.

In 2008, the average rates were 5.28% compared to 3.59% today.

The only problem is the deposit, a minimum of 10%

Now who in your family can lend you 10% as an investment.

We provide many mortgage solutions, we may have one for you.

If you think we can help, give me a call.

Michael Usher,
The Friendliest Mortgage Adviser In Town.

I thought I was busy and I guess I’m not the only mortgage adviser who was last month.

According to the Council of Mortgage Lenders,

(whose members are building societies and other lenders who together undertake around 94% of all residential mortgage lending in the UK)

Gross mortgage lending was up 21% in March.

According to their chief economist Bob Pannell……
“The housing market has emerged hesitantly from hibernation. Household finances are under a lot of pressure, and as a result demand for house purchase loans fell in the first three months of 2011. Lenders expect mortgage credit availability to improve this quarter, and this should help to underpin house purchase activity albeit at pretty low levels”

“Remortgage demand, meanwhile, continues to firm, presumably linked to expectations of higher base rates. Remortgage approvals in February were the highest for more than two years. Stronger remortgage activity looks set to continue propping up overall lending.”….Well done Bob

A lot of my clients are moving from tracker mortgages, to fixed, this may not be the best option for you, but if you want some free advice just give me a buzz

Take care

Michael

,

According to the Bank of England, more mortages will be more readily available.

You know I like to report good news, after all we hear bad news all the time and there are plenty of doom and gloom merchants out there.

So the latest news is, Mortgage providers expect to make more loans in the next three months, offering a ray of hope to the struggling housing market.

Lenders were at their most positive in two years about the prospects for mortgage availability, which they put down to their market share targets and the improving cost and availability of their funds.

Those polled in the central bank’s quarterly survey were also more willing to lend to those with a small deposit, reporting that they have increased access to loans for buyers with deposits of less than 25pc.

However this is tempered by the fact that there has been an increase in the number of households defaulting on their mortgages payments.The first rise in two years.

Lenders are expecting the number to rise, because of the likely higher interest rates. which of course would effect many householders not on fixed rates.

If you need help on getting your mortgage fixed for the next 3-5 years, give me  a call for a chat, as there are some great deals out there.

It may surprise you to know that in a survey of more than 1500 UK home owners, 25% believe current interest rates are either higher or the same that they have been in the past,  or simply don’t know.

Of course if you read this blog you will know that I have been talking about interest rates going up for quite some time. And I have mentioned that the current bank rate of 0.5% has been an historic low for exactly two years this month. So you’ll be a pretty savvy person knowing all this as a regular to this blog.

So here’s a headline for you:

Rise in interest rates could take millions of homeowners by surprise – Shelter

One in four mortgage holders is not aware interest rates are at a historic low, research highlighted by Shelter shows.
Read more »

We can never get a true picture locally of house price’s gains or losses, because there is not enough data from the local agents.

But of course, if I was really keen, I could to the land registry, but that far too much work.

However, if you want to do some digging around, check this out http://www.landreg.gov.uk/houseprices/

Here is the latest information from the NationWide building society in relation to house prices nationally.

Commenting on the figures, Robert Gardner, Nationwide’s Chief Economist, said:

“House prices increased by 0.3% month-on-month in February, leaving prices 0.1% lower than the same month a year ago. The overall picture is still one of a market treading water. Indeed, the three month on three month measure of house prices, a better measure of the underlying trend, was basically flat in February at -0.1%.

“This shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise. Housing market trends are closely linked to wider economic prospects. Given that the recovery hit a soft patch at the turn of the year and looks set to remain sluggish in the year ahead, the property market is likely to follow suit, with relatively low transaction levels and prices moving sideways or modestly lower through 2011.

Living in Surrey without a fixed rate mortgage?

If you haven’t got a fixed rate mortgage, then maybe you ought to consider changing soon.

The next Bank Of England Monetary Policy Committee Meeting will be on the Thursday 10th March.

Now, they may decide to increase the base rate by 0.25% then or hold it off for a month or two.

But as I have mentioned before on this blog, the city experts are predicting that rates will go up by 0.5% by the summer. But then, you probably know this because of all the news coverage.

What you may not know is that the banks and the building societies are already raising their rates, quietly, but slowly.

Don’t panic Mr Mainwaring….(see reference below)There’s still time to fix your mortgage, but don’t leave it too long..

There still are some great deals out there and  all I ask is that if you are considering fixing your mortgage give me a call..

Below, for a bit of fun, is the reference to “Don’t Panic Mr Mainwaring” from the TV series Dad’s Army…Have s chuckle with me, but don’ panic