It’s hard to believe we’re well in to Spring, it seems like only last week we were toasting in the New Year. They say time flies when you’re having fun and it’s been an extremely busy first quarter to the year here at Number One Mortgages. This is usually a good indication of some significant changes in the property and mortgage market and we’d like to highlight these
The big property market prediction
The part that all home-owners want to hear is that signs are pointing towards a house price rise in 2016. In the outer South-East area we are predicting a rise of between 3-5% making the average home worth in the region of £363,312-£370,366.
The interesting mortgage market predictions
We are expecting to see a significant rise in the growth of these 3 mortgage areas:
1. Remortgaging for home improvements. Adding a new kitchen, bathroom or conservatory can increase the value of your property and improve your living space. Property prices have risen steadily over the past few years and with more increases predicted, homeowners have additional equity in their property to take advantage of. Mortgage rates continue to be at their lowest ever and by combining both factors homeowners can expect to release equity in their property to re-invest in making home improvements. Moving home is expensive so homeowners see instant savings by remortgaging and making home improvements instead. Here’s the top improvements to add value to your home…… Read More
If you’d like to chat about your remortgaging options, whether to make improvements, reduce your mortgage term or gain more affordable monthly payments, then please contact us and speak with Ollie or Kevin on 01273 736536, who can expertly guide you towards the best deal for your circumstance.
2. First Time Buyer mortgages
We’re expecting to see a rise in the number of first time buyers over the coming months as the buy to let market cools somewhat. First time buyers have finally got their edge back and developed an advantage over buy to let investors. George Osbourne is introducing a 3% surcharge on stamp duty for 2nd property purchasers (eg landlords) from April 2016. This means if an investor purchases a £250k property it will cost them £10k in stamp duty vs the £2.5k stamp duty for first time buyers or home movers on the same property. This will eliminate some of the competition for low to mid-priced properties leaving the market wide open for first time buyers to take advantage. Discover how first time buyers can maximise on this opportunity in this article…..
If you’d like to chat about your first time buyer options, if you have questions like ‘will I be accepted’ or ‘how much can I borrow’, then please contact us and speak with Ollie or Kevin on 01273 736536, who can expertly guide you towards the best deal for your circumstance.
Remortgaging to reduce the mortgage term.
Remortgaging to reduce the mortgage term. Property price rises, reduction in mortgage debt and an increased appetite to lend mean that remortgaging to reduce your mortgage term really is a no brainer. Instinctively we don’t want to remortgage, it isn’t a priority in our busy lives but the savings are so large at the moment that you’d be silly to not even consider the options. If you used less than a 20% deposit when purchasing your property or had less than 20% equity when you last remortgaged it maybe possible to knock 8-12 years off of your term without increasing your monthly payments. Learn more by reading Mr and Mrs C remortgaging story….Read More
If you’d like to chat about your remortgaging options, whether to make improvements, reduce your mortgage term or gain more affordable monthly payments, then please contact us and speak with Ollie or Kevin on 01273 736536, who can expertly guide you towards the best deal for your circumstance.
But, we’re also predicting three big areas of decline in the mortgage market
Buy to Let mortgages
– There’s been some significant changes announced by George Osborne taking effect from April 2016 that will likely deter some buy to let investors. The 3% stamp duty surcharge means if you purchase a second property for £250,000 you’ll pay £10,000 in stamp duty! A hike of £7,500 on the price for a first time buyer for the same property. Those who do still want to purchase second homes will need larger pots of money available to do so. The challenge will be beating the first time buyer on purchase price with this financial ‘handicap’. Interested in this topic? Check out our article Frist Time Buyer VS Buy To Let ….Read More
If you’d like to chat about your buy to let options, then please contact us and speak with Ollie or Kevin on 01273 736536, who can expertly guide you towards the best deal for your circumstance.
2. Interest Only Mortgages – There are 2 major factors reducing the number of interest only mortgages for residential home buying. First is that many lenders won’t offer interest only mortgages at all to new borrowers now, and most of the others have tightened their criteria in response to the regulators, The Financial Conduct Authority, updating their guidance on lending responsibly.
I have to say however the main reason this is in decline is because most people want to pay back there mortgage and with interest rates so low it is nearly always affordable to be on a repayment mortgage. If you’re considering a switch to repayment mortgages here’s an article on the topic …Read More
If you would like to move your mortgage from interest only to repayment and take advantage of affordable interest rates currently, then please contact us or speak with Ollie or Kevin on 01273 736536
Let to buy mortgages
– Changes to let to buy mortgage products take affect from 21st March 2016 although many lenders have already begun bringing in these changes. If you are remortgaging a property that you have lived in to finance another property purchase it will be categorised as a ‘Consumer Buy to Let (CBLT)’, some lenders have decided that they do not wish to offer these products, lessening competition. This typically means interest rates will rise on these products. In addition, the lender will likely be completing additional checks on these types of products which again means these products will typically rise in cost……Want to discover more about Let To Buy?….Read More
If you’d like to chat about your let to buy options, then please contact us and speak with Ollie or Kevin on 01273 736536, who can expertly guide you towards the best deal for your circumstance
All the best
Kevin Dunks
Managing Director
Number One Mortgages
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