15
Feb
Mortgage market 'is improving'
Confidence in the housing market is continuing to grow, buoyed by
improvements in the mortgage market, a property expert has
claimed.
Stuart Law, chief executive officer of Assetz, explained that more
competitive mortgage rates coupled with a greater number of
products at a high loan-to-value rate show that "the general
mortgage market is improving".
He added that this should have a knock-on effect to the residential
property sector as a whole.
"Confidence in the housing market is continuing to increase as
house prices continue to rise. This is not surprising [but]
unfortunately we are a long way from peak transaction levels," Mr
Law stated.
He also pointed out that concerns over a lack of first-time buyers
in the market could be unfounded.
Research released by the National Association of Estate Agents
(NAEA) on February 11th revealed that the percentage of sales made
to first-time buyers increased to 23 per cent in January, compared
with 19 per cent in December.
Mr Law claimed that these figures indicate that there are enough
people stepping on to the property ladder for the first time in
order to underpin the housing market and encourage strength in
prices.