London mortgage activity on the increase

September 12, 2010 by Brendan O'Neill

London

News

Figures from the National Mortgage Index have recently been released for August, showing that concern and fear over house prices have forced a regional dip in mortgage activity. Yet London bucked the trend as purchase mortgage applications increased in London by 9.2 per cent.

The data, by the Mortgage Advice Bureau and Coreco Group, showed most regions dropped by a similar figure but London’s rise in purchase mortgage applications is the fifth in a row.

According to the independent brokers, the North of England fared the worst but the North West jumped 9.4 percent in August mortgage applications compared to July.

Overall, the average mortgage loan to value (LTV) slowed a little from its six month peak of July’s 71 percent to August’s 70 percent.

Brian Murphy is the Mortgage Advice Bureau’s Head of Lending and he believes that the imminent future of the mortgage market will be far clearer following the spending review due next month from the Coalition Government.

According to the FTAdvisor.com, Murphy commented:

“Many prospective buyers are likely to wait until the details of the review are published before they make a decision on whether to burden themselves with more debt.

“On a more positive note, there are some very competitive mortgage rates out there at the moment and it’s very much a buyers’ market, so anyone who is in a position to buy should seriously considering purchasing while the market is working in their favour.”

With many competitive mortgage deals and offers available at the moment, mortgage advisors are able to help those in the position to buy or looking to remortgage find the best deal for their circumstances.