The total number of live mortgage schemes listed on its market-leading sourcing system on Monday (February 2nd) stood at 3,496, down from 4,407 on January 5th. Looking at historic figures, the total number of mortgage schemes available in the UK intermediary market has dropped by 65% in the past six months.
Trackers witnessed the biggest fall last month (43%) with 1,215 schemes being listed at the beginning of January, dropping to 692 on Monday (February 2nd).
Variable rate mortgage schemes saw a similar decline – down 38% from 532 to 329 for the same period.
Fixed rate mortgages have been the most resilient with a drop of just 13% in the past month, down from 2,841 to 2,475. The six month analysis paints a bleaker picture, however, with a 65% drop in live schemes since August 2008.
Mark Lofthouse, CEO of Mortgage Brain, comments, “Most analysts have predicted that the UK mortgage market will continue to fluctuate but these results are really starting to paint a clear picture of the difficult market conditions and the extra effort intermediaries are having to put in to find the right product for their clients.”
