Property & Mortgage Outlook – April 2022

Currently, housing demand remains at an all-time high with demand considerably outweighing supply and a reported six or more offers at the asking price or above for the most desirable properties.

The average price of a property coming onto the market came to £354,564 in March, shows the latest house price index from Rightmove.

This 1.7% monthly increase, which compares to 2.3% in February, is the largest recorded for March since spring 2004. It also means that as of this month, house prices grew 10.4% annually, the fastest growth seen for this metric since June 2014.

The index adds that all regions and counties bar London and Scotland experienced annual increases of 10% or more, which went up 6.3% and 8%, respectively. Rightmove director of property data, Tim Bannister, says that with there being twice as many buyers as sellers in the market currently, the imbalance between high buyer demand compared to low available property supply is the greatest seen for the start of a spring market. The data also shows that 22% of property deals are being agreed on the Rightmove website within the first week of going on sale, and 47% within the first two weeks.

Best Buys* (as of 5th April 2022)

BOOK IN ADVANCE SAVE £27.5K

The best five year fixed rate available in December was 0.94%. At the time of writing the current best five year fixed rate is 2.04%, a massive 1.10% increase! Clients who booked their funds in advance for a £500K mortgage completing in May or June could have saved up to £27,500 over the next five years. Anyone with a large mortgage coming to maturity this year would be wise to review sooner rather than later.

EQUITY RELEASE

Equity release product pricing is mainly linked to the fifteen year gilt rate. Although product pricing is rising in line with main stream mortgages, it is important to remember that, by historical terms, rates are still very competitive. In fact, the payable rate on later life products has halved over the past five years making a compelling case for all existing arrangements to be reviewed.

PRICE WALKING

With the FCA having introduced its new ‘price walking’ rules from January this year, now is a good time to review your home insurance policies. In the biggest shakeup the industry has seen for many years, insurers are no longer able to offer better deals for new customers than are available for their existing ones. If you would like a review of your cover and price to ensure you are adequately insured and paying the best possible premium, please contact us here.

* Lending criteria restrictions apply to all products, always seek independent advice.

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Past performance is not a guide to future performance and may not be repeated. Capital is at risk; investments and the income from them can fall as well as rise and investors may not get back the amounts originally invested.

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Source: Professional Mortgage Services & Techlink.