Squeeze on non standard mortgage availability.
More news is out today that mortgage availability continues at a reduced level, those affected in the latest tightening of rules are the non standard mortgage applications where people wish to borrow in excess of 90% add this change to the maximum loan to income (LTI) ratio on which has dropped significantly according to the Credit Conditions Survey, then it is no surprise mortgage approvals have dropped.
Mortgage approvals for the month of November fell to 59,029 from 59,511 in October, a drop of just 0.8%, if we look at the consensus figure that shows an expectation of 58,500, that would equate to twice the difference based on data released, so that is less than expected, however it is still a drop.
In the light of these figures banks and building societies said the amount they were willing to lend had improved slightly during the three months to early December, there is an anticipation that there will be a further narrowing in spreads going forward, suggesting mortgage rates have further to fall from their current low level. Going forward, lenders expect overall mortgage availability to remain unchanged compared with the final quarter of last year.