News
Competition returning for first-time-buyer market
Competition between lenders for the returning first-time-buyer market has resulted in a new wave of high LTV products, according to Countrywide’s January monthly rental market report.
These high LTV products dominated the top 10 mortgage applications for January.
The results show that eight products in the Top 10 mortgage applications for January were designed with first-time-buyers in mind, with four products at 90% LTV.
This increasing number of 90% LTV mortgage products has pushed up the average interest rate of Countrywide’s top 10 mortgage applications to levels not seen since July 2009.
January’s report also revealed that following the usual seasonal drop in applications in December 2009, applications rose by 14% in January compared to December 2009 – a 12% increase on January 2009.
The average interest rate has increased from 4.29% in December 2009 to 4.78% in January 2010.
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Countrywide’s finding also support recent reports that indicate a number of lenders have pushed up their standard variable rates (SVR), which might finally tempt remortgage customers.
One consequence of this action is the increase in remortgage applications with Countrywide seeing a 3% increase in January 2010 compared to December 2009 – the highest level since June 2009.
Grenville Turner, group chief executive of Countrywide, said: “Activity in the market is on the up with our estate agency division reporting a 32% increase in new buyer enquiries. Lenders are also moving in the right direction and our broker network has noted that there are now 85% more mortgage products available compared to the same period last year.