Farward Mortgage Guide

According to figures released by the Council of Mortgage Lenders, the current mortgage market in Scotland is no better off than that of the United Kingdom, with lending at its lowest for two years over the first three months of the year. Remortgages increased – due in part to concerns regarding interest rate hikes.

8,000 loans totalling £888million were taken out to cover house purchases for Scotland’s first quarter of 2011; this had dropped by 27% compared to the previous quarter, and was 19% lower in volume than the same period last year. First time buyers accounted for 40% of the house purchase loans advanced – a growth of 35% from the preceding three months, this is a little higher than the percentage for the United Kingdom as a whole, which saw a lower proportion at almost 37% in the first quarter of 2011.

Although there was a rise in the number of first time buyers taking out loans to purchase homes, there was an overall decline in the volume of both first time purchase and home relocation loans during the first quarter for Scotland. First time buyer loans had dropped by 18% in volume – compared to the same period last year, and had also seen its value fall by 21% from its level twelve months ago. Lending to those moving house saw a significant drop of 31% in volume and 33% in value over the same period.

Remortgage rates

Along with trends in the UK as a whole, there was a slight rise in remortgaging activity in Scotland during the first quarter, with 8,800 loans for remortgages being taken out, reaching a total of over £900million.

Policy consultant for CML Scotland, Kennedy Foster, commented on the similarity between Scotland’s predicament and the mortgage market in the UK, saying both were experiencing ‘subdued house purchase lending and a resurgence in remortgaging Funeral Cover from Insurance.co.za.’ Kennedy also added that we could expect a growth in remortgage activity ‘throughout the UK further in the next quarter as recent expectations of a rise in base rate, although unfounded, led to an increase in remortgage approvals in the first quarter.’

Thank you for visiting remortgage.com we hope to be dealing with your remortgage requirements shortly.

personal banker job description