Number of mortgage products at all-time low as lenders withdraw
THE VOLUME of mortgage products on offer has slumped to the lowest level on record, leaving homeowners with a severe lack of options for taking out loans as the recession continues to curb lending.
Price comparison website Moneysupermarket.com said borrowers now have just 2,282 deals from which to choose, while first-time buyers have a range of only 1,195 products available to them.
The options represent a meagre choice compared to those on offer at the zenith of the property boom in the summer of 2007, when homeowners could choose from more than 30,000 mortgages, while first-time buyers had an array of nearly 20,000 choices.
Louise Cumming, head of mortgages at Moneysupermarket.com, said: “Despite all the recent initiatives from the Government and Bank of England, the lack of credit is an ongoing problem.”
“Unfortunately it is doubtful the number of products will increase significantly any time soon.
“Lenders are competing to attract the same borrowers – those that are seen to offer the least risk to the bank – and there is no sign of this trend changing.”