The fact that Northern Rock is making repayments back to the Bank of England for the bail out loan it received seems, on the face of it, to be good news, though it could prove to be detrimental to the mortgage market as a whole.
It has been suggested that Northern Rock is only able to have overpaid on what it owes to date because it has effectively withdrawn from the mortgage market and has received significant sums of money by calling in the home loans. In the very short term it allows Northern Rock to get ahead on their payments, but in the future this means there is less money available in the mortgage market.
If there is less money available to borrow for mortgage customers then the cost of borrowing can rise further, fuelled by demand outstripping supply. Northern Rock mortgages may well come back into the market in the future but at the moment these are worrying times.
Special Summer offers have been announced by the Co-op, better known in financial circles as CIS. Their key offer is on a three year tracker mortgage that is only available to CIS current account holders.
The first thing to notice is the sub 6 percent interest rate – 5.99 percent when customers can provide a 25 percent deposit. There is also no fee on this particular mortgage, something that is refreshing in the mortgage market of today. Customers will also be pleased to see that there are no legal fees and remortgage customers can also receive a free property valuation.
There is great flexibility in this CIS mortgage too, with the option to overpay and thus reduce the total repayment term and interest. Payment holidays are also available to help customers manage their expenditure from time to time.
According to the Abbey National falling house prices may be an interesting opportunity for some homeowners who can see the chance to get a bigger property at a smaller price.
The figures held by Abbey National indicate somewhere in the region of 2 million homeowners are considering a move as house prices drop. Around 1.2 million of these people are hoping to trade up to a larger house, feeling they will get a relative bargain.
As a spokesman for Abbey National Mortgages reaffirmed, a market where house prices are falling is not always bad news. It creates opportunities and bargains that some people can make the most of.
