More mortgage deals pulled as nervous market fears rate rises
Lenders withdraw additional mortgage offers amid concerns that the Bank of England will raise interest rates further.
Mortgage offers have hit a three-month low, it is reported, with lenders pulling deals as the threat of further interest rate rises looms.
There were 200 fewer mortgage packages on offer on Monday than last Friday, which is the lowest number since mid-March, Sky News reports.
The total of mortgage products fell 4% from 4,686 to 4,616 over the weekend as a nervous market reacts to uncertainty about whether the Bank of England will increase interest rates again later this month.
Santander and Furness BS both removed some of their fixed rates, while the Co-operative Bank withdrew its entire mortgage range.
Halifax, the UK’s largest mortgage lender, increased some of its fixed rate offers by 0.3%, while Leeds BS pushed its up 0.4%
Tightening
A tightening of the mortgage market comes as more first-time buyers are opting for mortgages of 35 years or even longer.
Data from banking trade group UK Finance showed a record number of buyers taking out 35-year mortgages to keep repayment amounts down.
The proportion of FTBs going for the longer-term mortgages was up to 19% in March, more than double the figure for last year.
Two and five-year fixed rate deals have also become more expensive, according to financial date firm Moneyfacts.
The average two-year rate has hit 5.72%, and the five-year rate rose to 5.41%, which are the highest figures since mid-January.
Whilst Einstein may now be occupied promoting the dubious advantages of Smart Meters, his definition of insanity still has merit – ‘doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results’. The BoE have long since lost any credibility and the policy committee should just walk their dogs on the 22nd.