The latest Halifax house price report showed a slide of 1.7 percent for the month of July, taking the overall decrease for the year to date to 8.8 percent.
A Halifax spokesman said that increasing demands on consumers income as well as much tighter mortgage lending criteria is making it very difficult for people to get into the market, with a natural decline in prices to try and stimulate interest.
On the topic of mortgage approvals, which really drive the housing market, they are down by almost 70 percent compared with the same time last year according to Halifax figures. This leads to the real market, that is those who can finance a move, shrinking considerably and in many cases almost cutting off completely the first time buyer.
The Abbey National has today announced mortgage rate cuts on several of its home loan products, specifically the fixed rate and flexible mortgages.
All of the Abbey National flexible offset mortgages have had a rate cut of 0.2 percent, as have the five year fixed rate offers, while three year tracker mortgages have received a reduction of 0.1 percent. They have also stated that more reductions will follow, these being on the two year and three year fixed rate mortgages, where rates could come down by a quarter of 1 percent.
A spokesman for the Abbey National stated that they wanted to do the best they could for the customer, delivering the best possible deal whenever possible. It is also hoped that the cutting of rates across the market will stimulate activity in the housing market.
The Abbey National has announced rate cuts on their two and three year fixed rate mortgages of up to 0.15 percent, the second round of cuts in the last 10 days.
The lowest 2 year fixed rate Abbey National mortgage can now be had at 6.34 percent, with a fee of GBP999, while the equivalent three year offer is just 6.29 percent. These mortgages require at least a 25 percent deposit to qualify.
Soon to be breaking the 6 percent barrier is a new Abbey National mortgage with a 5.99 percent rate, though the maximum loan to value will be 70 percent rather than the usual 75 percent. This will be for a three year fixed term and has a fee of GBP1,695, with a maximum loan value of GBP250,000.
