Mortgage deals down 90% compared to 2007
Share
Figures from moneysupermarket.com show the number of mortgage products available on the market has broken through the 3,000 barrier for the first time since July 2009, but they are still 90% down from three years ago.
In June 2007 there were a total of 28,413 mortgage products available; this fell to a low of 2,177 in July 2009, but we have seen a 42% increase since then with the current number of mortgage products sitting at 3,100.
The most significant growth has been in five year fixed products, which have increased by ten times the number available since June 2009.
Hannah-Mercedes Skenfield, mortgage manager at moneysupermarket.com, says: “The financial crisis really hit the mortgage market hard with the number of products falling by a massive 92 per cent. After a period of uncertainty in the market, in 2010 we have started to see confidence return, and although we are still a long way off the highs of 2007, it is encouraging for consumers that banks and building societies are starting to return to the market.
“Over the past couple of months we have also started to see some relaxation in the number of products for borrowers with small deposits, with a number of lenders reintroducing products offering 85 and 90 per cent mortgages. Good news particularly for first time buyers.
“I expect the upward trend in the number of products to continue so if you are looking for a mortgage, now is a good time as there is more choice.”
If you enjoyed this article, sign up here to receive daily email updates from Mortgage Strategy and Follow @mortgagestrat
Readers' comments (1)
Anonymous | 4 Jun 2010 3:18 pm
Another headline of doom but if anybody gets past this and reads the article they will see it contains plenty of positives. Whilst it is true that products are 90% down from the highs of 2007 it is also true that there are massive improvements from the lows of 12 months ago. We need to focus on the way forward, not dwell on the past. The halycon days of 2007 are well gone, and in all honesty are never likely to return. In any case are we wanting a return to how it was? I for one think a new landscape needs to be created with the emphasis on longer term stability. Product numbers are slightly misleading from 2007 as sub prime lenders were operating at their peak and offering all kinds of add ons to essentially the same product such as ignore second charge loadings, CCJ's and arrears loadings. This turned 1 product into 3 or 4 possibles, distorting the numbers somewhat. Once sub prime went it was obvious product numbers would drop substantially. The past is gone, lets look to the future, and stop looking at once was.
Unsuitable or offensive? Report this comment