July 24th, 2014
The number of homes purchased in June exceeded statistics seen at any time since the housing market high of late 2007, recent figures have revealed.
HMRC say that 109,580 properties changed hands in June, the highest since November 2007.
“This definitely proves that the current housing market is a buoyant one” says Taj Kang, director of niche broker Contractor Mortgages Made Easy.
“November of 2013 was equally busy however when considering mortgage lending criteria has been tightened considerably since MMR in April, this is simply staggering.”
“We have heard from buyers for some time that it’s considered a ‘vendors market’ and that certainly seems to be the case.”
Whilst the market being busy is a good indicator of a recovering economy, there is naturally a worry about that being sustainable.
“Put simply, prices cannot remain at the level they are right now if the market is going to remain this busy” added Kang. “Conversely, mortgage approval rates remain relatively low, although this can be explained to a degree as a result of tightened lending criteria since April, and the Mortgage Market Review.”
Further statistics released this week show that just 18% of mortgage borrowers in 2012/13 were under 35.
“For a long time there has been a worry that today’s young people will continually struggle to latch onto the property ladder without significant help from the ‘Bank of Mum and Dad’, and the fact that not even one-in-five buyers are under 35 really hits home” said Satvinder Singh, Managing Director at Contractor Mortgages Made Easy.
Add in the fact that there are now many more ways of earning a living that the ‘traditional’ PAYE route, and things start to look bleak for potential homeowners.
“When considering the non-conventional way in which income is assessed, it’s only natural to worry that as a Contractor you could really struggle” adds Satvinder Singh.
“Luckily, with the relationship that we have with mortgage lenders in the UK, we are currently in dialogue to bring others into the Contractor mortgage market place, so we remain confident that we will be able to help those that would otherwise have been turned down.”
Article By: Mark McBurney, Senior Mortgage Consultant at Contractor Mortgages Made Easy
Media Contact: Raman Kaur, Public Relations Manager
Tel: 01489 555 080
Email: media@contractormortgagesuk.com