So just when we thought the doom and gloom was over, the news is out that January 2010’s gross mortgage lending was 21% down on the same time last year.
Not only that, but just in case we weren’t depressed enough, the Councilof Mortgage Lenders tell us that the figure was a 10 year low, with ‘just’ £9.1bn during the month.
We’d usually expect a fall at the start of the year, but with months of rising interest ending, we weren’t quite expecting a 10 year low!
Of course, it could have something to do with the end of the temporary stamp duty holiday on homes of less than £175k, as house purchases grew in December 2009.
The good news is that there are a lot of cheaper loans from lenders about, and some talk of good deals for borrowers with smaller deposits (http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2010/jan/17/mortgage-fixed-rates-fall-borrowers-competition), so buying a property isn’t all doom and gloom just yet!
Have you found getting a mortgage for your buy to let properties easier or harder over the last few months? Did you beat the stamp duty holiday deadline? What are your property buying plans for 2010? We’d love to know!
Tags: property