GOOD NEWS FOR BORROWERS WITH SMALLER DEPOSITS

Several lenders have refreshed and re-priced their mortgage products for the new year with a new lender in the shape of Accord Mortgages starting to offer mortgages at 90% loan to value and Newcastle Building Society re-entering the 95% loan to value market.

Longwell Green-based Nigel Bull, one of a team of Mortgage Advice Bureau (MAB) representatives operating from Besley Hill’s offices throughout Bristol and Gloucestershire, says this is good news for borrowers with smaller deposits or lower levels of equity, allowing more potential buyers to access the market.

Nigel reports that December saw the anticipated seasonal slowdown in the housing and mortgage market, although activity amongst purchasers and remortgage borrowers was ahead of the same period in 2010.

“As you would expect in the current economic climate,” says Nigel, “many purchasers continue to opt for the certainty that fixed rate mortgages offer, with three out of four buyers electing to fix.

“January saw changes in the average rates available, with the average two, three and five year fixed rates and two year tracker rate all rising very slightly.

“The average fixed mortgage rates for January are 4.27% (two year), 4.53% (three year) and 4.61% (five year), all of which are below the same period twelve months ago, although average two year trackers at 3.50% are marginally above this time last year.”

According to Nigel Bull, those homeowners remortgaging are also still firmly in favour of fixed rates but the proportion is slightly less, with just under two thirds choosing fixed rate deals.

SMART'S THE WORD FOR BESLEY HILL'S NEW THORNBURY OFFICE

Besley Hill Town & Country Homes have opened a “smart” new office at 57 High Street, Thornbury.
The premises, which have been fitted to a high specification, are claimed to be “probably the smartest property showroom in Thornbury”.
The office, part of a group of 15 Besley Hill branches throughout the Bristol and Gloucestershire area, has a sales team with over 50 years’ experience of the local property market.
To mark the opening, they are offering a range of incentives for all new instructions before 31 March 2012.
In addition to a free no obligation valuation, these include free local advertising in the Thornbury Gazette and online listings on Rightmove, PrimeLocation, FindaProperty and Besley Hill’s own website, ranked one of the top five property websites in the UK.
Further support is provided in the form of high quality colour brochures with internal, garden and view photographs as well as prominent displays in the new showroom.
“Our service contracts are tailored to suit individual customers and the high level of satisfaction is borne out by the results of a survey of our 2011 sales,” said Thornbury branch manager, Andrew How.
The survey found that all sellers considered the branch to be “very” or “extremely” personable and professional with 95% likely to recommend Besley Hill Thornbury to friends and family and the same percentage expressing similar satisfaction with the service provided, the high quality of sales details and the level of communication provided throughout the sale.
“Our customers do say the nicest things about us,” added Andrew How. “For instance, one told us that we made a painful process bearable with our professionalism and kindness while another said that their move went smoothly and without any fuss because they were in capable hands.”
At Thornbury, Besley Hill provide a full range of property services, including house sales, lettings, mortgages, financial services, auction, survey and conveyancing.
For further details, contact them at Besley Hill Town & Country Homes, 57 High Street, Thornbury, South Glos BS35 2AP, tel 01454 411522, email thornbury@besleyhill.co.uk, website www.besleyhill.co.uk
Besley Hill also has offices at Bedminster, Bishopston, Bishopsworth, Downend, Dursley, Easton, Fishponds, Kingswood, Knowle, Longwell Green, Stroud, Thornbury, Whitchurch Village and Wotton-under-Edge.

MORTGAGE COSTS FALL TO ALL-TIME LOW

Research from Barclays Capital shows that mortgage payments in England and Wales averaged £494 a month or 15.4 per cent of home owners' take-home pay last year.
This makes deals at their most affordable for a decade, falling from a peak in 2008 when monthly mortgage bills accounted for more than a fifth of take-home wages.
The data also suggested that most homeowners could manage with the Bank of England raising the base rate from its historic 0.5 per cent low.
It found that 83 per cent of homeowners would have the necessary flexibility should interest rates, or their circumstances, change.
Just under three-quarters of those studied said they had a plan in place for when interest rates started to rise, with around a third of these planning to cut 'lifestyle' spending, including clothes, holidays and eating out, to offset increases..
The latest Barclays Capital credit conditions survey found lenders were planning to launch more innovative deals, particularly for those who have smaller deposits.
“This could help first-time buyers who have found themselves trapped in the rental sector,” said Adam Offer, managing director of leading south west estate agents, Besley Hill.

HAPPY NEW YEAR FOR HOMEOWNERS

Nationwide ensured it was a Happy New Year for homeowners with research which showed that UK house prices actually increased during the past year.
Data issued by the mortgage lender revealed that the average UK house price rose by 1% over the course of 2011.
Commenting on the figures, Robert Gardner, Nationwide’s Chief Economist, said: “Against a backdrop of anaemic economic growth and a deteriorating labour market, UK house prices were surprisingly resilient in 2011.”
According to Nationwide, nine out of ten UK regions recorded house price rises in 2011, including the south west, where there was a 0.6% increase.
Adam Offer, managing director of leading south west estate agents Besley Hill, welcomed the trend.
“These figures show that the property market outperformed the stock market during the past twelve months and suggest that bricks and mortar will continue to be a sound investment in 2012,“ said Mr Offer.