2
Apr
Signs of mortgages recovery emerging, says CEBR
The centre for economics and business research (CEBR) has said
there are some indications that the mortgage market is
improving.
Senior economist at the CEBR Charles Davis stated: "There are
tentative signs [of improvement] and that also comes at a time when
we have seen some pick up in interest and enquiries in the housing
market."
Mr Davis made his comments following the recent release of Bank of
England figures showing a 19 per cent rise in agreed home loans in
February.
However, he noted, some of the "fundamentals" of the market are
likely to act to constrain the recovery in the short term, such as
rising unemployment and low pay growth.
Those keen to invest in property may look to do so for the long
term, bearing in mind that the level of improvement could be slow
due to the state of the economy.
In other mortgage news, Abbey has announced it is launching a new
range of four-year fixed-rate deals for first-time buyers, with
loan-to-value rates of up to 85 per cent.
Director of Abbey Mortgages Nici Audhlam Gardiner commented that
the products are designed to meet the needs of such buyers in
"today's difficult market conditions".
