It’s been over a year since the beginning of the credit crunch, and many financial aspects are still facing difficulties and uncertainty.
Everything from credit cards, petrol prices and the weekly shop has seen increases in costs. Coupled with uncertainties in the employment and housing markets, it’s not exactly the most financially stable of times.
Indeed, mortgage rates have seen a steady decline during this difficult time. According to a recent survey, the number of successful applications for homeowner loans has almost halved in comparison to last year’s figures.
When it comes to the age, the survey revealed that the average age of new borrowers was 35, and that the average buyer has to fork out a deposit of 22% in order to secure their mortgages.
With the credit crunch affecting lenders as well as borrowers, many are now finding it increasingly difficult to secure financial backing to purchase their properties – with some lenders having scrapped 100% mortgages in response to the hardships of the credit crunch.
For those looking to buy their first property, the average rate of borrowing has risen to 3.33 times their income, whilst home movers find themselves having to fork out an average of 2.94 times their salary in order to afford to move.
As the credit crunch puts pressure on all aspects of the mortgage market, so the numbers of applications for loans in order to remortgage has also fallen.
As a result of the credit crunch, lenders are becoming stricter about who they lend to, with first-time buyers facing high rates on their loans and mortgage deals
that are fiercely contested.
As for where people are searching for that mortgage deal, many are now turning to specialist brokers in the search for a bargain rather than banks and housing authorities.
