Woohoo we’re halfway through 2023!! What are your plans for the rest of the year?
A new home?
A renovation or extension?
A new investment property?
Sort out your life insurance and protection cover?
Whatever your plans, we can help you find a new mortgage and protection cover to make your plans a reality. We can even secure rates up to six months in advance to protect you against interest rate increases. We pledge to save you time and stress and could help you potentially save money, leaving you to enjoy 2023 ❤️🏠
Team News
🌙🌃 Marvellous Moonlight Walk! We had a brilliant time at the Katharine House Hospice charity walk through Banbury. Thank you to Olga, Helen and all our family, friends & dogs for joining us. We're delighted to announce we smashed our fundraising target - huge thank you to everyone who has donated. There's still time to support us. See our JUST GIVING PAGE to donate.
It was a privilege to be a mile-marker sponsor of the event and meet many people whose lives have been touched by the fantastic team at Katharine House Hospice. We can't wait for next year!
Many thanks from Julian & Pete ❤️
NEWS & UPDATES
Houses selling quicker in 2023 than previous year
While the market may have started to slow where house price growth is concerned, the time it’s taking to sell a home across England and Wales has fallen by an average of 44 days.
This is according to the latest data from estate agent comparison site, GetAgent.co.uk.
It shows that over the last 12 months across England and Wales, it has taken an average of 250 days to sell a home. That’s 44 days quicker than the average of 294 days seen in the previous 12 months.
SOURCE - MORTGAGE STRATEGY
Skipton Building Society launches 100% LTV mortgage
Skipton Building Society has launched a 100% loan-to-value mortgage for renters, which was largely welcomed by brokers, although many pointed out the danger of borrowers falling into negative equity.
The loan is only available to renters over 21 for their first homes, and comes with no fees.
The lender says its research shows that eight in ten tenants feel “trapped in rental cycles” because of the high rents and the rising living costs, which prevents them from buying a home.
It adds that there are 4.6 million households renting privately across England, which has jumped by 112% since 2000.
It adds: “As a responsible lender, Skipton is ensuring that the buyers will not be paying more on a monthly basis than what their current rent is.”
The average cost of a first-time buyer home lifted 2% to a record £224,963 in April, according to data from Rightmove last week.
Skipton is one of a few lenders on the market to offer a 100% LTV mortgage, but unlike most, it will not require a guarantor.
See the following link for further details.
SOURCE - MORTGAGE STRATEGY
Accord to resume Buy-to-Let lending at 80 per cent LTV
Accord Mortgages will resume lending at 80 per cent loan to value (LTV) for buy-to-let landlords in an effort to support those with smaller deposits.
This is the first time in seven months that Accord will lend to buy-to-let borrowers at this tier, after it withdrew from the market in September following market uncertainty caused by the mini Budget.
See the following link for further details.
SOURCE - MORTGAGE SOLUTIONS
IS your current mortgage deal ending before 1st DECEMEBR 2023?
It's time to start thinking about remortgaging. It's worth shopping around for a new rate as you can secure a deal up to six months in advance. Stratton Thorpe Mortgage Solutions provide:
· Free no-obligation initial consultations
· Flexible appointments at a time & location to suit you
· Simple, hassle-free service - we take care of everything to ensure a smooth transition to your new mortgage
If you have longer to run on your mortgage, switching rates may still be worth considering. This may involve paying exit fees or early repayment charges on your outstanding loan. However, if you save significantly by switching, these extra charges could be worth considering.
Asking prices reach record high as market confidence returns – Rightmove
The average price of a home coming to market reached £372,894 in May, data from a property portal has shown.
According to Rightmove’s house price index, the 1.8 per cent monthly price growth was also the biggest seen so far this year, and higher than the one per cent growth typically seen during May. This represented a £6,647 increase in the average asking price.
Annually, asking prices were 1.5 per cent up on this time last year.
Tim Bannister, director of property science at Rightmove, said: “This month’s strong jump in new seller asking prices looks like a belated reaction and a sign of increasing confidence from sellers, as we’d usually see such a big monthly increase earlier in the spring season.”
He said one reason for this rise in confidence was that predictions for a major downturn in the market were looking “increasingly unlikely”. Bannister said: “What is much more likely is that the market will continue to transition to a more normal activity level this year following the exceptional activity of the pandemic years.”
SOURCE - MORTGAGE SOLUTIONS
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