"The ‘mood music’ around the Bank of England’s MPC suggests that a rate rise is increasingly likely in August and mortgage lenders appear to be jumping before they are pushed."
Its tracker shows that average interest rates have increased "quite significantly" for those with either a 5% or 25% deposit, with the former seeing average rates up by 21 basis points and the latter by 12 basis points.
Bank of England data shows that average fixed-rates for 95% LTV mortgages have increased throughout this year, up to 3.95%. Average rates for 75% LTV mortgages also increased to 1.74%. While the rate differential between 75% and 95% LTV loans has narrowed slightly to 2.1%, first-timers with only a 5% deposit can still expect to pay close to two-thirds more each month and year for their loans.
AmTrust is warning first-time buyers to "anticipate a changed environment" over the next few years as BBR reaches a ‘new normal’ with further increases likely over the next 12-18 months.
It is also urging lenders to look at options to increase their high LTV mortgage business, for example, by utilising private mortgage insurance to mitigate credit risk and act as a catalyst to drive rates down closer to ‘normal levels’ for lower LTV borrowers.
Pad Bamford, business development director at AmTrust Mortgage & Credit, commented: “This iteration of the AmTrust LTV Tracker is notable for two core reasons – firstly we are clearly seeing lenders getting in their ‘retaliation’ first when it comes to rate increases. The ‘mood music’ around the Bank of England’s MPC suggests that a rate rise is increasingly likely in August and mortgage lenders appear to be jumping before they are pushed.
“In a way this might be viewed as something of a positive as it should not mean a big glut of lenders jumping to raise rates once the announcement is made. However, this is only because rates have been upped over the past few months and there is a strong message to the market here that the days of ultra-low pricing is likely to be behind us.
“There are however clearly positives for first-time buyers – house prices are still high but they do not appear to be moving upwards with any vigour and indeed we’ve seen some falls in certain parts of the UK. With a far greater level of product availability for first-timers added into the mix, and the fact no stamp duty is payable on homes valued at £300k or less, then you could say that prospective new purchasers are in as strong a position as they have been for some time.
“But, and this has remained the case for a number of years, the major obstacle to overcome for most first-timers is still securing the deposit. Even at the 5% level, the average first-time buyer purchasing the average first-time home is still going to need in the region of £9k before they even consider whether such deals are affordable to them.
“Cutting down on the risk is one way to improve the appetite to lend, and while we approve of the increase in product options, this does not always translate into increased lending. The good news is that competition continues to grow, and lenders who might ordinarily not be looking at the first-time buyer market are now much more willing to. If more focus could be trained on high LTV lending then we would go a long way to ensuring far more first-time buyers have a fighting chance of getting on the ladder.”
