Remortgaging popular option for many

Saturday, 12 Jan 2008

Mortgage lending fell in September, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML).

September’s gross mortgage lending of £30.6bn was down on August’s figures (£34bn), however remortgaging for September was higher than in August as well as being up on last year’s figures.

Five interest rate rises since August 2006 have meant that borrowing has become more expensive and, as a result, many first-time buyers have found it even harder to get onto the property ladder.

Borrowers who recently came off fixed rates will be facing a similar difficulty in affording their new mortgage payments.

Commenting on the figures, the CML's director general Michael Coogan said: “The data shows that higher interest rates are now beginning to slow the housing market, in line with our recently published forecasts.

“Looking forward, we expect remortgaging to continue to hold up as borrowers coming off fixed rate deals look to re-finance.“

 

Source: http://www.yourmortgage.co.uk