Consumers not spooked despite snap election

Latest data from Mortgage Advice Bureau, the UK’s leading mortgage broker*, suggests that the UK housing market remained steady in April, despite the news of a General Election being called for June and ongoing economic and political uncertainty around Brexit. Key indicators that remain either unchanged month on month or similar to the previous month include:

- 2% increase in average purchase price, and correspondingly, an average 2% increase in typical purchase loan size

- Minimal change in average size of remortgage month on month (0.6% increase)

- Average purchase price for FTB’s remains broadly unchanged on previous month (1.23% increase)

On a regional basis, topline data for the Yorkshire and Humberside is as follows:

Yorks and Humberside Average Statistics – April 2017 dataPurchase MortgageRemortgageAverage LTV %74.5%56%Average loan size£143,684£127,190Average age3643Average income£31,954£33,427Average property value£191,001£226,720

Steve Murgatroyd of Mortgage Advice Bureau in Leeds comments:

“April was a steady month for us, and we didn’t actually see much, if any, impact from the Easter Holidays as enquiries were consistent from clients all month. As you would expect at this time of year, buyers were busy – both first timers and home movers – although the ongoing lack of stock locally meant there was less choice. That has translated into realistically priced properties attracting lots of viewings, multiple offers and, in some cases, offers exceeding the asking price. Suffice to say, competition between buyers was quite fierce in April, and if the lack of properties on the market for sale continues, then it’s quite possible that the current ‘seller’s market’ conditions will remain for the foreseeable future.

We also saw a significant amount of customers enquiring about remortgages in April, possibly tempted by the raft of extremely competitive rates that were launched last month, meaning that people are now seriously starting to consider how much they can save by switching.

Interestingly, we’ve also seen the amount of landlords we assisted in April with Buy To Let mortgages for purchase remain steady; it seems that professional investors are very much still in the game with demand for rental properties locally remaining strong, albeit many Landlords would seem to be revising their approach having taken advice with regards the new tax rules.”