New figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders have shown a drop in the number of new mortgage loans granted by lenders in February. There were under 50,000 mortgages handed out in February, an unsurprisingly low figure given the cautiousness of lenders and the number of products which have been taken off the market. With lenders withdrawing products from the market and increasing interest rates on their remaining offers, mortgage approvals have continued to drop at a monthly rate since September.
The number of new mortgage loans was down by 30 per cent in February on the previous year. That has seen an increasing reliance on remortgage deals, especially given the large number of cheap fixed rate deals coming to an end at present. Several lenders, such as Barclays, are offering to match homeowners current fixed rate deals on the proviso of a single one off payment at the start of the deal. However, that hasnt prevented a sense of anxiety amongst homeowners regarding getting a good remortgage deal.
A Council of Mortgage Lenders spokesperson confirmed that lending conditions remain difficult, with the figures mentioned relating to completions of transactions started several months ago.






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