The mortgage industry is one of the biggest in the developed world. When the market is in decline it spells big financial trouble for homeowners, bankers, potential buyers, and more. The lending figures in the UK have been on the decline which has investors troubled. UK figures are the lowest they have been in two years and this has market analysts scrambling to figure out what is going on and when this trend will swing back into a more positive direction.
Key Takeaways:
- Year over year figures of the mortgage market are up. However, January is showing lower figures than any month in the last twelve months.
- Some take this as a sign that the first time buyer mortgage market has become sluggish although remortgaging activity is still going strong.
- Experts see lack inventory in the housing market as one of the reasons why first time mortgage lending numbers are weak.
“Home buyers borrowed £8.4 billion in the first month of the year, down 28% on December and unchanged on January 2016. This came to 45,700 loans, down 28% on December and 1% on January 2016, according to the figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML).”