While many of the factors which drive the housing market are the same up and down the UK, some areas have other features which are more demanding than in other parts of the country.
Julie Gaskin, corporate relations manager at GMAC-RFC, believed lenders needed to be innovative in the current climate and one area it was considering was regional mortgages.
“After the rises in Bank Base Rate, lenders are being forced to look at different ways of designing products for the first time in ages. One thing we’re looking at is regional products. For example, where prices are below the UK average, the loan size is slightly less so products with high fees are not applicable. It’s up to lenders to try different products and consumers will vote with their applications.”
However, the idea has been met with some caution from others. Mark Gordon, head of product development at Platform, commented:
“The concept is an interesting one but how relevant this would be to the majority of borrowers is questionable and would warrant significant research. There are clearly differences in the house buying process so there is definitely scope for customisation of current offerings.”
Phil Perry, director at ARK Financial Planning, said: “It wouldn’t be fair if you couldn’t get a product that someone else could get a few miles down the road. It would be like offering better deals to new customers, like some lenders do now.”
