Category: Mortgage

Halifax is imposing a new 70-year age limit on the terms of its home loans for some borrowers.

In a note to brokers, Halifax said the change to its criteria would come into force from the 18th of March.

The new age limit applies to remortgage applications with any capital raising or additional borrowing and some purchase and remortgage applications, dependent on credit score and profile.

Halifax said the changes were made as “part of a regular review of our lending criteria and will ensure we can continue to lend responsibly to a broad range of customers”, adding that it would “continue to support the majority of customers” with borrowing up to the age of 75.

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Nearly half of UK landlords with mortgages are preparing for a rate renewal within the next year – and they are expecting their mortgage to rise by a whopping £615, on average.

The research from The Mortgage Lender (TML) shows that another 41% of landlords will be renewing in the next two to three years.

Most of these landlords are currently locked into a five-year fixed mortgage, while others have two-year fixed deals.

TML says that a smaller percentage have Standard Variable Rate (SVR) or tracker mortgages.

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Chancellor Jeremy Hunt decided against launching a 99% mortgage scheme due to fears that it could push people into negative equity down the line.

The scheme seemed to be reminiscent of Help to Buy, except it would have offered mortgages with a deposit of 1%.

Speaking to MPs on the Treasury Committee, Hunt said: “I would have liked to have had some measures to help people get on the housing ladder but it is difficult to do that unless you are absolutely confident that property prices are back on the up, because otherwise you are encouraging people to get on the housing ladder with the prospect of house prices falling and therefore them falling into negative equity.”

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ew data from Zoopla suggests that the housing market is becoming buoyant despite widespread uncertainty over the exact direction of mortgage costs.

The portal’s latest housing market snapshot shows that all measures of sales activity are improving as pent-up demand returns to the market.

The number of sales agreed – one of the most reliable indicators of housing market health – is 15 per cent higher than a year ago. This uplift shows greater confidence to move house and more realistic pricing from sellers.

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More than half (57%) of first-time buyers clubbed together with someone else to buy a home last year, with 43% purchasing their property on their own, according to data from TSB.

In 2022, 54% of first-time buyers with TSB took out a joint mortgage, with 46% going it alone.

The bank reported there has also been an increase in the average mortgage term for first-time buyers, from 30 years in 2021 to 32 years in 2023.

Stretching out a mortgage term for longer is one way to make elevated mortgage rates more affordable on a monthly basis, although buyers could end up paying more in interest over the longer term.

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UK mortgages in arrears hit a seven-year high in the final quarter of 2023, according to data from the Bank of England. The proportion of the total loan balances with arrears, relative to all outstanding mortgage balances, has increased over the last quarter of 2023 to its highest level in seven years, research from the Bank of England has revealed. The BoE’s Mortgage Lenders and Administrators Statistics: 2023 Q4, found the proportion of the total loan balances with arrears, relative to all outstanding mortgage balances, rose to 1.23 per cent in Q4…

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Borrowers who wish to fix their mortgage rate will find average prices have increased in the last month, the latest data from Moneyfacts.co.uk has revealed.

The length of time for which products are available on the market has also plummeted, illustrating the volatility in the current mortgage market at the present time.

The data comes just a day after four mortgage lenders – including three of the ‘big six’ – made hikes to their mortgage rates.

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Mortgage deals are typically on offer for just 15 days before being pulled, despite homeowners and buyers having the widest choice for 16 years.

This is the shortest shelf-life in six months, according to financial information service Moneyfacts.

As a result, people have little time to decide when rates are volatile.

One adviser said the situation was adding extra stress to a huge financial commitment and making customers feel pressured to make a decision quickly.

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Average mortgage interest rates are the highest they have been since the 2008 financial crisis, data suggests.

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New house buyer inquiries fell in September, marking the fifth month in a row they had fallen, according to RICS.

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