Act Fast To Secure Right Mortgage For You
By Alison Steed
HOMEBUYERS need to act quickly to get the deal they want from mortgage lenders as the average time each product is available dropped from 23 days to just 14 days last month.
Turbulence in the mortgage market has forced borrowers to speed up their decision making, and the shelf life of mortgage products could reduce still further.
Rising fixed rates and lenders withdrawing products that were becoming too popular combined to push the shelf life of the typical mortgage deal down, according to the financial statisticians Moneyfacts in its Treasury Report on UK Mortgage Trends.
Darren Cook, analyst contributing to the Moneyfacts Treasury Reports, said: “It is bad news for consumers that mortgage deals are only appearing in the window for such a short period. There are now only a limited number of cheaper deals available and before the consumer has chance to look at them a second time, they are gone.
“LIBOR and SWAP rates are continuing to prove unpredictable and I would not be surprised if the shelf life is cut even further during the next few months.
“When the Bank of England cut interest rates by a total of two and a half per cent within two months back in November and December last year, the shelf life fell to only six days, which is less than the life of a pint of milk.”
Rate changes are the main reason for driving down the life span of many deals, with residential mortgage products only rising by 33 on offer to 1,299 in June. There are now at 1,305 products available.
