Has the mortgage market returned to pre-crisis levels?

The range and number of mortgage products now available is almost at the same level as before the financial crisis.

This is according to Matt Cassar, managing director of the Finance Advice Centre. 

Cassar says the industry is currently flourishing as lenders seek business from home buyers who are continuing to defy experts’ warnings of a post-Brexit slump and take advantage of record low interest rates.

Finance Advice Centre reports that the mortgage market began 2017 in rude health, with a total of £21.8bn worth of mortgages taken out, up from £20.4bn the month before.

The positive figures are being encourage by a diverse range of different deals catering for people’s individual budgets, situations and outlooks, says Cassar.

They include long-term fixed rate deals, mortgages specifically for students, for the over-55s, for buyers who need to borrow 90% of the value of their new home and also for people with adverse credit histories.

“I don’t think that it is over-stating matters to say that we are almost back to the pre-credit crunch days,” Cassar says.

“There are some variations in mortgage activity when you look deeper into the figures but the overall picture, especially when you consider the downbeat predictions that have been issued over the past year, is extremely healthy.”

The mortgage expert says that he feels house buyers are increasingly recognising the value of seeking professional advice.

“This is especially necessary when there is so much choice in the mortgage market,” he explains. 

“Lenders are falling over themselves to offer a variety of deals and it would be a huge undertaking for a buyer to research them all in order to find the best mortgage, which is why input from a professional advisor is so necessary.”