There is also a black cloud as broker activity (taken from the number of times mortgage sourcing is performed) is half what it was last year. However, the statists reveal that the average mortgage payment is £120 lower than in February 2008 a saving for consumers of almost £1,500 per year.
Mortgage Product Highlights:
• The average number of live products available to Mortgage Intermediaries fell from 3,707 in January to 2,983 – a loss of 724 individual products and a drop of 19.53%.
• The average figure is derived from a month (February) in which there was relatively little activity as product numbers reached a high of 3,398 and fell to a low of 2,689.
• Year on year analysis shows that live mortgage product availability dropped from 31,825 in February 2008 to just 2,983 in February 2009. This equates to a reduction of 28,842 individual products.
Mortgage Sourcing Highlights:
• 658,494 mortgage sources were performed in February which is a drop in intermediary activity of 24% when compared with January, a decrease in broker activity in real terms of 86,330 individual mortgage searches.
• This is a massive 50% drop in broker activity from February 2008 and equates to 658,590 fewer individual mortgage searches performed.
Mortgage Pricing Highlights:
• The average monthly mortgage payment in February was £779.24 which is just £1 lower than the previous month but £120 cheaper than February 2008.
David Aylmer, marketing and business development director at Trigold commented on the results saying: “Although product numbers continue to fall and broker activity has witnessed a remarkable 50% drop since last year the cost of mortgages is falling which is good news for consumers. Furthermore, although the latest interest rate cut is unlikely to translate directly into product pricing it does still mean that there are some affordable deals available for those with a significant deposit. The availability of mortgage funds is still a widespread concern for the industry but product affordability is a message that brokers should be talking about to their existing and prospective clients.”
The Trigold Product Index is the definitive guide to Mortgage Product Data in the UK intermediary mortgage market with the Trigold sourcing system displaying more products from more providers than any other system. Trigold is the preferred sourcing system for 7 out of 10 mortgage brokers using their sourcing, application and compliance system.
