Lenders plan to throttle mortgage market for 2 more years

Lenders plan to throttle mortgage market for 2 more years

9:04 AM, 2nd June 2011, About 14 years ago

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Mortgage lenders have laid out their lending policy for the next two years – and the news does not look too good for borrowers.

The forecast, released by the mortgage industry mouthpiece the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML), hints that some extra funding for buy to let borrowing will come through later this year.

Banks and building societies do not look set to relinquish their squeeze on mortgages anytime soon, which makes initiatives to help first time buyers more like rearranging current lending rather than making new funds available.

The attitude seems very much ‘wait and see’ as the Bank of England and financial regulators in the UK and Europe polish up new lending guidelines, while the government rebalances the economy.

Mortgage costs are predicted to stay much the same for the rest of 2011, with a possible gradual rise next year.

Overall, the CML has a lot to say about financial factors beyond the group’s control, but offers no explanation for lenders choosing not to advance funds.

The table below shows a five year trend, starting in 2008.

Council of Mortgage Lenders Forecasts

The number of property sales has stayed much the same over the period, with the main difference coming with gross mortgage advances.

In 2008, 901,000 sales attracted £253 billion in loans, but for 2012, 900,000 sales are forecast to secure only £150 billion – a fall of around 40%.

Arrears and repossessions average much the same over the five years.

“The re-balancing of the UK economy was always going to mark a difficult and uncertain transition for households. Inflationary pressures are adding to the financial pressures many are experiencing, and reinforcing anaemic economic growth in the short-term,” said the CML report.

“The flip side is that the Bank of England should be able to maintain low interest rates for longer, and so provide material help for those having to service debts. The prospect of low but relatively stable levels of activity in the housing and mortgage markets over the next 18 months is an unexciting one, but by no means a negative outturn given the adjustments being made in the wider economy.”


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