Well that’s a reason to cheer even if it has only dropped to 19%. It’s certainly a step in the right direction.
Also encouragingly the number of high LTV products on the market has jumped during August, so says Moneyfacts. Some 36 new mortgage deals with LTVs of 85% or above were launched during the month, some way away from the disappointing numbers in July which fell away to 26. And during August five new products were launched with LTVs of 95%.
So maybe the Funding for Lending and NewBuy scheme is starting to kick in. I truly hope so. However I was disappointed that if the research from Rightmove is to be believed that the public perception of the NewBuy scheme is still very limited. The survey suggested that homeowners and first-time buyers have little knowledge of this initiative – some 34% first-time buyers and 51% of other home movers.
Rather disappointing. Think what could be achieved in lending terms if we could raise awareness amongst all interested parties. I guess it’s largely up to the Government to do this but lenders and builders alike should all play a part.
After all it’s great to have some positive news to report to our beleaguered first-time buyers... at last!
