First Mortgage News

Higher loan to value (LTV) mortgages, especially 95% LTV lending were virtually nonexistent after the financial crisis. Since then, and particularly in the last two years, there has been considerable change within the mortgage market, which has witnessed a dramatic increase in the number of mortgages available with a deposit of just 5% – the […]

In the 2015 Budget, the Chancellor, George Osborne announced the introduction of a Help to Buy (HTB) ISA, which is due to launch in Autumn this year. The scheme is only available to first time buyers and each buyer is only allowed one HTB ISA during the lifetime of the scheme. The ISAs, which will […]

The introduction of the Mortgage Market Review (MMR) last year brought with it strict affordability criteria, making things increasingly difficult for many first time buyers. With the dust now settling and the MMR now firmly bedded in however, the implementation seems to have caused minimal disruption to the market overall. There is one particular area […]

It is a common misconception that mortgages are limited to a 25 year repayment period, but this could not be further from the truth as there is now a growing trend towards longer repayment terms – some as long as 40 years. According to the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML), the number of individuals opting […]

With competition in the mortgage market continuing to intensify, and showing no signs of abating, the outlook for first time buyers remains positive as lenders attempt to win new custom. There has been a significant reduction in fixed rate products over the last few months, with two year fixed rates starting as low as 1.19% […]

First Time Buyer Numbers Continue to Gather Pace Figures released from Halifax reveal the number of first time buyers rose by 22% to 326,500 in 2014, which followed a 23% rise in 2013. The average cost of a home bought by a first time buyer increased by 9% to £171,870.This increase takes the amount of […]