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.
As of 17 June the Nationwide Building Society mortgage rates will be increased by up to 0.5 percent on a number of their products.
New customers taking fixed rate or tracker mortgages, as well as those remortgaging, will face higher interest rates, a situation that the nationwide Building Society is blaming on the increased cost of borrowing between financial institutions. Looking at the broader picture the interest rate on a 2 year fixed rate mortgage with a five percent deposit is around 1.4 percent more than it was just a year ago.
A Nationwide Building Society spokesman defended the changes, explaining how their costs had increased and left them with no other option but to pass on some of that cost to their customers. They were not alone in increasing their rates either, with many other big name lenders increasing their rates too.
Good news for home buyers comes from the HSBC which is cutting both interest rates and fees on some of their fixed rate mortgage products.
The popular 2 year fixed rate mortgages offered by HSBC are to have their rates reduced by 0.31 percent, with an additional GBP200 taken off the admin fee. This takes it down to just GBP599. Some of the longer term fixed rate mortgages will also be reduced, with cuts of 0.16 percent.
As well as existing deals the HSBC mortgage department also has a new product to offer. A 5 year fixed rate mortgage with an interest rate of 5.98 percent is to be made available to any customers who have an HSBC Premier or Plus account. This new mortgage does have an arrangement fee of GBP999 with it.
