News Review: Housing
A bit of online shopping might help advisers by
Stephen Smith, director of housing and public affairs, Legal & General
if current headlines are to be believed you would be forgiven for feeling that new Year cheer is in very short supply in the mortgage industry for providers, advisers and borrowers alike. Perhaps that is understandable as many would probably claim that 2011 was ‘a bit of turkey’ when it came to selling, sourcing or getting a mortgage. For the most part (the buy-to-let sector aside) we have heard very little in the way of positive news and the somewhat negative outlook will understandably have left all of us feeling a little deflated. clearly times are tough
but, as with everything, the situation may not be as bleak as many of us have been led to believe. the fact remains that there is still mortgage business being written out there and although we may have to work a little harder to find them there are still providers with products available for brokers to recommend. in short just because house prices seem relatively high and it’s difficult to get a mortgage doesn’t necessarily mean that it is not possible to buy a property.
Strategy at the end of november the government unveiled its housing market strategy. the measures announced were certainly a step in the right
direction when it comes to helping the housing market. the fact that the coalition intends to help first-time buyers by catering for up to 100,000 assisted purchases has to be largely applauded. in fact delving in to the Housing Strategy for england, the chancellor has outlined some positive measures to tackle what is fast becoming a major problem for the uK economy by assisting those trying to get a foot on the housing ladder. For example, the move to allow first-time buyers to purchase new build properties with a 5% deposit is an important one. this measure will considerably help those struggling to save money for a deposit especially in a context of rising rental costs and the perceived scarcity of mortgage products. the government has not
been on its own. HSBc committed to lending a further £350 million to mortgage borrowers with a deposit of 10-15% by the end of this year and a number of other mainstream lenders have moved their maximum LtVs up to 90%. the appetite from uK consumers is clearly still there too as the desire to buy a dream home remains as unabashed as ever. unfortunately some people have false impressions of the current state of the market. in many cases a short analysis of a client’s situation can show that they might be better off moving now as rates are at an all time low and although house prices may be quite flat for those people it might be best for them to move before the market starts to get going.
8 mortgage introducer JANUARY 2012
“Although it would be wrong to say ev- erything is rosy in the garden it is not as bleak out there as people may think. However, there is a job for us all to do. Across the industry we need to work together to position ourselves as a force for good. It is therefore in- cumbent upon us all to communicate the realitites about the mortgage mar- ket today in a fair, transparent and informative way”
Force for good So where does this leave us in the mortgage industry? although it would be wrong to say everything is rosy in the garden it is not as bleak out there as people may think. However, there is a job for us all to do. across the industry we need to work together to position ourselves as a force for good. it is therefore incumbent
upon us all to communicate the realities about the mortgage market today in a fair, transparent and informative way and it seems that savvy mortgage hunters
and homeowners in the uK tend to turn to the internet when they want to find out what is going on in the housing market. recent research from the
council of mortgage Lenders shows that around 80% of potential mortgage customers’ research online for available mortgages before they visit an adviser. this is a growing trend and suggests that it might not be too long before a considerable proportion of all mortgage business is transacted online. With that in mind it is essential we should make as much information and support as possible available to those looking for a home loan via the web especially in the current challenging climate with all its conflicting and contradictory information.
Comparison tool it is with this in mind that we unveiled our customer mortgage comparison tool this week. available through Legal & general’s customer website www.legalandgeneral. com/mortgages the new offering is a set of interactive tools enabling customers to search for mortgages by entering their requirements into a simple form that matches mortgage products to each individual’s specific requirements. once a customer conducts a search, finds a product they’re interested in and chooses to proceed they will then be allocated one of six participating advisory firms to deal with their enquiry. the customer can then choose the day and the time they wish to be contacted by that adviser.
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