Borrowers would be wise to consider deals outside of the government’s Mortgage Guarantee Scheme to ensure a wide choice of products, according to Moneyfacts.
Compared to the five deals available at 95% loan-to-value (LTV) earlier this year, choice for those with the smallest deposits has risen dramatically, as a total of 78 more options have appeared since the start of April, both within and outside of the Mortgage Guarantee Scheme.
Availability at 90% LTV has also improved, but remains a significant way off the 779 deals that were available pre-pandemic.
The influx of higher LTV deals has seen the average fixed rates for the top lending tiers drop since the start of this month.
Sponsor’s comment: Weathering the Covid-19 storm
The mortgage market has shown remarkable resilience during the pandemic, says Graham Felstead, and it looks set to build on that throughout 2021
Graham Felstead
NatWest Intermediary Solutions
The word ‘unprecedented’ has been frequently used to summarise the impact that Covid-19 has had on societies worldwide.
We’ve had to adapt to new norms personally and we can all speculate on what life will be like once the new normal truly settles. But one thing that can be observed is that the mortgage market has been weathering the unprecedented Covid-19 storm remarkably well, all things considered.
To embed, copy and paste the code into your website or blog:
Reports on key recent regulatory developments focussing on banking and finance. See also our Financial institutions general regulatory news and other sector news in the Related Materials links.
Contents
Mortgage Guarantee Scheme: PRA statement on regulatory treatment of mortgage loans
LIBOR transition in sterling structured products: Working Group paper
EU CRR: Implementing Regulation on ITS on public disclosures
Targeted review of internal models: ECB results
CRR: EBA final draft RTS on methods of prudential consolidation
BRRD: updated Implementing Regulation on ITS on MREL reporting by resolution authorities
BCBS 2021-22 work programme
Feature: Great expectations
The mortgage sector fared better under the pandemic than anybody could reasonably have expected, but can those parts of the market that suffered make a comeback? By Adam Williams
By Adam Williams
Against all the odds, 2020 was a turbocharged year for the mortgage market. House prices soared as the government boosted the industry with tax breaks and other support.
Critics warned that this boom could not be sustained and a cliff edge awaited once the stamp duty holiday was withdrawn. However, thanks to the chancellor’s decision to extend and then taper the scheme, there are renewed hopes that activity can remain strong in 2021.
Leader: Bloodied but unbowed
By Rebekah Commane
There is no doubt that the events of 2020 could not have been foreseen by even the most clued-in analysts.
The year began full of hope, with expectations of a boom in the mortgage market as it began to recover from years of uncertainty surrounding Brexit. But by March the country was locked down as a result of the coronavirus pandemic and the mortgage sector came to a standstill.
However, what looked set to be an abysmal year for the industry turned around quickly once the market reopened and buyers rushed to take advantage of government incentives, such as the stamp duty holiday. And now, with the new version of Help to Buy, the Mortgage Guarantee Scheme, confirmed in early March and high-LTV products that were scarce at the height of the pandemic flooding back onto the market, 2021 looks set to be one of the busiest on record for the mortgage industry.