The index reveals a sharp increase in the proportion of purchases made by first time buyers (FTBs) in the first four months of this year, with that proportion being 3.5 times higher than in the previous 4 months.
“The return of significantly more FTBs in to the market this year, despite the lack of high LTV mortgages, is one of the best indicators of confidence we’ve got at the moment. A surprising number of FTBs have managed to find deposits of at least 25% in order to access a wider choice of mortgages and get a cheaper deal. Many branches of The Bank of Mum and Dad have proved more robust than many of our High Street banks, haven’t needed a Government bail-out and recognise that providing their son or daughter with a sizable deposit is often a good way of utilising their savings,” commented Ray Boulger of John Charcol.
The survey also showed that the proportion of all applications for fixed rate mortgages (i.e. not just FTBs) continued to climb in the last month, from 80.9% in March to 82% of all business written by John Charcol in April. This number is over 70% higher than the proportion of fixed rate applications in January, when it stood at 47.8%.
The John Charcol Mortgage Index is published monthly, tracking three important statistics, based on mortgage business written by John Charcol. The index is a leading indicator of trends being based on mortgage applications submitted to lenders, whereas figures reported by the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) and the Bank of England (BofE) are based on completions, which typically take place 2-3 months after the mortgage application is submitted.
