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Home movers are resolute about pressing ahead

The Coronavirus crisis has brought the housing market to a grinding halt, but home movers across the UK remain determined to press ahead with their plans at the earliest opportunity, according to a survey of its customers carried out by reallymoving, the comparison site for home movers.

In the survey, gauging the sentiment and intentions of home movers since restrictions on movement began, 75% of those who were at the early stages of planning a home move indicated that they still want to move as soon as possible, with a further 18% still hoping to move later this year.

Just 7% had scrapped their plans because they were no longer willing or able to move home.

Most buyers and sellers are sensibly taking advantage of this period of lockdown to prepare their property for sale and research areas to move to, as well as talking to agents about property that may be about to hit the market.

Those who have agreed a deal and are already in the process of buying and selling a property when the lockdown commenced potentially have the most to lose, having already invested money in the transaction.

Sensibly, most (62%) intend to use the lockdown period to get as far ahead as possible so they’re ready to hit the ground running when the current restrictions are lifted.

A third (29%) have decided to put their transaction on pause temporarily, while 6% are no longer willing or able to proceed and 3% have already seen their chain collapse.

The key concerns of buyers and sellers who are no longer proceeding with their home move are clear, with the main reason for withdrawing being nervousness over house price falls (26%).

One respondent commented “We’re in our mid 20s and probably wouldn’t have stayed in the property long enough to get over the negative equity of the originally agreed price.”

Other worries include; someone in the chain pulling out (17%), concern over job security/lost job (16%) and lost confidence in the economy (16%).

The vast majority (92%) of sellers who are marketing their homes but haven’t yet found a buyer are planning to leave their property on the market currently, taking advantage of the fact that buyers may have more time on their hands to search for property online during lockdown.

Reallymoving CEO Rob Houghton says:

“Home movers at all stages of the process currently remain determined to press ahead at the earliest opportunity, suggesting we could see a quick recovery in housing market activity when the current restrictions on movement end.

“Before the Coronavirus crisis hit, we were experiencing the strongest spring market for several years and this research suggests that demand has not yet melted away.

“But considering the main concern for movers is falling house prices, picking up the pieces of an existing move may require a renegotiation of the price along the chain and for some parties, particularly those who have had their incomes reduced, that move could become unviable.

“Until activity resumes it will be difficult to predict the full impact on volumes and prices, but it’s encouraging to hear the determination of buyers and sellers to stick with their plans and progress their move as soon as possible.

“For now, the most important thing is that people follow the Government’s advice to stay at home and keep removers, homeowners and tenants safe.”

Source: Property Industry Eye

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Lenders in the UK think 10 year mortgage deals are set to become popular

10 year mortgage deals look set to become more popular among home movers and those remortgaging in the UK as two major lender announced new long term products.

The lenders, Lloyds Bank and the Halifax, believe that borrowers are looking for more certainty going forward and are looking beyond the typical two year products and increasingly beyond five years.

The new mortgage deals from Lloyds have with and without fee options. They come with a 0.20% discount for Club Lloyds customers, plus an additional 0.20% discount for these customers available until 19 August 2018.

Examples of the 10 year fixed rates include remortgages at 2.42% with 60% LTV and £995 fee, including 0.40% discount and 2.64% with 75% LTV and £995 fee including 0.40% discount.

For home movers the Lloyds products include a 2.64% deal with 60% LTV and £995 fee, including 0.40% discount and 2.84% at 75% LTV and £995 fee, including 0.40% discount.

‘We’re seeing customers looking for longer periods of certainty when it comes to mortgage payments. Our new 10 year fixed mortgages will help provide remortgage customers and home movers with greater certainty with budgeting over the longer term,’ said Andrew Mason, Lloyds Bank mortgage products director.

With the Halifax, which is part of the Lloyds Banking Group, the new fixes are available at 60% LTV and 75% LTV for loans between £25,000 and £1 million, including options with and without fees.

Home mover rates start at 2.44% at 60% LTV with a £995 fee and 2.59% with 75% LTV and £995 fee, while for remortgage customers the rates begin at 2.69% with 60% LTV with a £995 fee and 2.89% with 75% LTV with a £995 fee.

‘Many home owners are looking for certainty with their mortgage payments over the longer term to give more peace of mind when it comes to their monthly outgoings,’ said Andy Bickers, mortgages director at Halifax.

‘We are always coming up with new ways to meet the needs of mortgage customers and bolstering our existing range of two and five year fixed rate products with these new, competitively priced 10 year fixes,’ he explained.

He pointed out that customers can also benefit from £500 to spend on Halifax’s new Mortgage gift site if they apply for a qualifying mortgage by 12 August. Following the completion of their mortgage, customers will be given login details to access the site and choose from a range of 40,000 items, including household appliances, garden furniture and family days out.

Source: Property Wire

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First-time buyers and home movers get pre-summer lending boost

The mortgage market experienced a pre-summer boost in May as lending to first-time buyers and home movers increased, figures suggest.

Data from banking trade body UK Finance shows that the number of approvals for first-time buyer mortgages increased 8.1% annually to 32,200, while home mover loans increased 4.4% to 31,100 over the same period.

Remortgaging continued to see a climb, up 7.1% annually in May to 36,000.

There was still little respite for landlords, though, with approvals for buy-to-let mortgages down 9.8% annually to 5,500.

Jackie Bennett, director of mortgages at UK Finance, said: “The mortgage market is seeing a pre-summer boost, driven by a rise in the number of first-time buyers and strong remortgaging activity. It is also particularly encouraging to see an increase in home movers, after a period of relative sluggishness in this important segment of the market.

“However, affordability remains a challenge for some prospective buyers and this is reflected by a gradual increase in loan to income multiples.

“Meanwhile purchases in the buy-to-let market continue to be constrained by recent regulatory and tax changes, the full impact of which have yet to be fully felt.”

John Phillips, group operations director at Just Mortgages and Spicerhaart, described the data as “the most encouraging for some time”.

He said: “We are starting to see a glimpse of some of the strong first-time buyer activity of 2017, and even more encouragingly, an uplift in home mover activity. This section of the market has been really slow of late, with affordability and a lack of houses making it tough for second and third steppers to make their next move.

“However, while these figures are encouraging, it could be more to do with a pre-summer boost than a real step change. Because overall, more needs to be done to help home movers.”

Source: Property Industry Eye