Bank of England Credit Conditions

"On the supply side of the mortgage market, it's full steam ahead right now. The availability of mortgages is improving as each week goes by, with many lenders having removed, or at least reduced, the additional checks and lending rules introduced at the height of the pandemic. On the demand side, while still busy, the market does feel less manic now that stimulus in the form of the Stamp Duty holiday has been withdrawn, something that's reflected in this survey. Interest rates for borrowers are at record lows currently, with competition between lenders driving this race to the bottom. However, by now we must getting close to the bottom and we may see rates start to increase slightly in the near future."

"We've seen demand for mortgages increase over the past quarter as lenders continue to relax their lending policies and rates become more competitive by the day. The amount of remortgaging has seen a particularly strong surge. We've also seen a lot of first-time buyer activity, as they are now in the best position to buy since the start of the pandemic with lots of options and reasonable rates along with a less competitive market now that the Stamp Duty holiday has come to an end. I suspect there will be increases in remortgaging moving forward given people's awareness of the fact rates are at record lows, especially as there are lots of help-to-buy schemes that will be coming to maturity over the next six months."