First-time buyers face continued pressure after deal contraction

First-time buyers still face pressure from reduced choice and affordability challenges, even though mortgage turmoil eased in April, according to Moneyfacts’ latest UK Mortgage Trends Treasury Report.

First-time buyers face continued pressure after deal contraction. First-time buyers still face pressure from reduced choice and affordability challenges, even though mortgage turmoil eased in April, according to Moneyfacts’ latest UK Mortgage Trends Treasury Report. It found that mortgage product choice contracted by around 10% since the start of March and higher loan-to-value deals (10% or less deposit or equity), typically used by first-time buyers, have fallen by 14%. Although overall product choice seemed healthy, up by 583 options in the month, this represented less than half of the deals (1,283) lost in the previous month as lenders pulled products due to interest rate uncertainty. Product churn calmed Moneyfacts found that mortgage product churn calmed, with the average shelf-life of a deal doubling from eight to 16 days. Since the...