Mortgage shortage blamed for house sale stutter

Category: Mortgages
Date: 7/15/2010

A shortage of mortgage deals has contributed to a drop in the number of home sales being completed, according to the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA).

The association's market report for June showed that while demand for property increased, the number of houses up for sale decreased for the first time in four months.

As a result, the average number of sales completed per estate agency branch dropped from eight in May to six.

"It's encouraging to see that increasing numbers of buyers have entered into the market," said NAEA president Michael Jones.

"There is clearly demand for property at present but these figures suggest that the banks are still being restrictive in their mortgage lending policies to buyers."

He added that the uncertainty created by the emergency Budget would also have contributed to a hiatus in activity, particularly as buyers and sellers were expecting a considerable increase in capital gains tax, which eventually turned out to be less severe than feared.

"If the banks ease up on mortgage lending restrictions then, with a bit of luck, the summer months will see the sales figure rise in line with demand," he added.

Despite the claims of an apparent shortage of mortgage finance, there are still a considerable number of competitive mortgage deals from which home buyers can choose.

If you're looking for a new two year fixed rate mortgage, the best currently available in the market is from Yorkshire BS. Open to borrowers with a 25% deposit, the rate of 2.89% fixed to 31 July 2012 sees it top our two year fixed rate mortgage best buy chart.

Not far behind is a deal from The Co-operative Bank available at 2.95% to 30 November 2012, also open to borrowers with a 25% deposit.

If you're looking to remortgage, Nationwide is currently offering an attractive five year variable rate deal at 3.99%.

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