MORTGAGEnews


Mortgage update FINANCE Mortgage approvals set to remain subdued I


ncreased regulatory pressures, lack of funds and a tough economic climate will make 2011 a challenging year for lenders and continue to restrict the availability of mortgage finance to borrowers says Hometrack.


The property analytics business, reports that home buyers face a continued struggle to obtain mortgages in 2011, with approvals expected to remain flat over the next 12 months. Hometrack provides automated


valuations and risk analytics to over 90 per cent of the UK mortgage industry, it expects lenders to approve 1.2 million mortgages this year. These will be made up of 575,000 mortgages for new home purchases and 355,000 remortgages, while 270,000 other borrowings will be secured on home owners’ properties. David Catt, Chief Operating Officer at


Hometrack said, “This represents no change on the 1.2 million Hometrack expect to see approved in 2010, a decrease on the 1.3 million approved in 2009 and a far cry from the 3 million-plus mortgages that were issued at the height of the


CNVEYANCING How conveyancers should treat estate agents A


fter the launch of the Conveyancing Quality Scheme (CQS) two months ago by the Law Society which aims


to enhance the reputation of conveyancing solicitors, some reports have suggested that the scheme does not, but should, contain a charter of how conveyancers should treat estate agents. Harpal Singh, Managing Director of Conveyancing Alliance comments, “Any focus on conveyancing standards for estate agents can only be good news. However I’m not sure if a voluntary charter would be an effective solution. Distributors and panel managers could have an important role to play here and one in which they share the benefits. When we at Conveyancing Alliance intensified our focus on estate agents at the end of 2009, we found that the vast majority of conveyancing solutions for estate agents were sub standard. But we


also found that individual agents have differing needs. We took a commercial decision to invest in creating genuine bespoke solutions for estate agents so they could recommend conveyancing lawyers who would not only provide clients with the very highest levels of service, but also the agent. Above all, solicitors must act in their clients best interest at all times, but they can recognise the


Harpal Singh, Managing Director of Conveyancing Alliance


importance of the agent and satisfy their needs without compromising their client relationship. Advising on exchanges and paying


commissions promptly should surely be a given. Providing a service to an agent is about much more than that. It’s about having a clear and open communication line throughout the transaction and working with the agent to achieve the best possible outcome for the client. It starts with solicitors becoming more commercially aware and embracing the benefits of working with an agent as opposed to leaving them in the cold. Conveyancing Alliance has worked hard to educate and train the law firms we represent in order to provide the service that our estate agents need. But we do it because there is a commercial benefit for us. It’s what we do.”


PROPERTYdrum FEBRUARY 2011 27


“Lending will not improve unless there is a dramatic upturn in consumer


confidence and in the global financial markets.” DaviD CaTT COO, HOMETRaCK


delay making a decision on whether to lend and borrow. While economic uncertainty looks set to continue into 2011 and 2012, Hometrack has identified a number of other major factors that will also constrain mortgage lending in the forthcoming year. David Catt says, “Looking ahead, the


overriding features of the lending market are those that dominated 2010, namely lenders’ constrained access to funding and ongoing regulatory pressures. Lending will not improve unless there is a dramatic upturn in both consumer confidence – which would boost the number of buyers – and confidence in the global financial markets – which would free up lenders to access funding. Until then, home buyers must recognise that the current subdued lending market is the new norm.” But there is light at the end of the tunnel,


property boom in 2007. The benchmark has been reset and what we’re seeing now is a new norm in lending.” 2010 was a year of economic uncertainty, causing both lenders and home buyers to


“The next 12 to18 months will be dominated by regulatory policy, only once this has washed through, will banks be in a position to look forward. Post 2012, we expect to see the return of competition to the market and a new benchmark for lending to be set at 1.8m.”


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