After a review by the Alliance and Leicester they have found that over three quarters of mortgage brokers see their role as more advisory than ever before, feeling also that this will become even more so for the rest of the year.
The concensus of opinion from the brokers is that a lack of confidence in the housing market is the main reason for customers seeking advice. Alliance and Leicester mortgage customers are grateful for brokers advice on this and also views on the economy generally, the second key area where brokers are finding requesting for information and advice.
The director of Alliance and Leicester mortgages explained that choosing the right mortgage for the economic conditions is vitally important now so being able to ask the advice of experts is a great benefit for customers.
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According to just released industry figures the number of mortgage approvals is down by a massive 20 percent compared with last month and almost 60 percent less than the same time last year.
There were just 28,000 mortgages approved last month, the lowest number since the records began in 1997. Bank of Scotland, for which mortgages are a core part of their business confirmed the validity of these numbers, saying they had seen similar, though not as extreme, results.
What the Bank of Scotland have seen though is a continuation in the level of remortgage business, something that they have been pleased with since this shows that there is still interest in the rates as they stand.
New mortgage customers at the Halifax will have to pay a little more for their home loans from today if they are taking out a tracker or fixed rate mortgage product.
The Halifax tracker mortgage rate goes up to 6.29 percent from 5.99, which is 1.29 percent above the base rate set by the Bank of England. Meanwhile the three year fixed rate mortgage offer rises to 6.44 percent, up from 6.22. A Halifax spokesman clarified that the increases will apply to just 5 of the 32 different tracker mortgages they offer and 19 of the 31 different fixed rate mortgages provided.
In that context then there are still many opportunities to avoid paying the extra interest, though of course the Halifax mortgage products that have been selected are the ones that will be the most popular.
