Interest rates were held at 0.1% again in May, but the Bank of England upgraded its economic growth forecasts for this year, predicting the strongest growth since the Second World War.
According to NAEA Propertymark, demand from buyers continued to increase, reaching its highest level in 17 years at 427 house hunters registered per estate agent branch, up from 409 in March.
The trade body says that 32% of properties sold for more than the asking price in April, which was twice as many as in March when the figure stood at 16%. It is also substantially higher than the previous record of 19 percent in May 2014.
Property supply remained under pressure with an average of only 27 properties available per branch, down from 31 in March to the lowest level recorded in 19 years. This means there is an average of 16 buyers for every available property on the market.
In other news, Barclays is cutting rates on a wide range of products by up to 50 basis points this week. The lender is making reductions on a number of residential and buy-to-let products, including those for borrowers with small deposits. Contact our team to learn more about these new competitive mortgage products.
More positive news, Nationwide has launched mortgages that enable first-time buyers to borrow more than five times their income when taking out either a 5 or 10-year fixed-rate deal. They’ll provide £1 billion of lending via Helping Hand, and will apply a lower stress rate as well as a higher maximum loan-to-income ratio.
Please feel free to contact our award-winning mortgage brokers on 0208 364 3444. They’d be delighted to discuss mortgage products that suit your circumstances, alternatively, follow the link below to arrange a time to discuss your options. https://mortgagesandinsurers.co.uk/get-a-quote/
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