Arjan Verbeek, CEO of Perenna, has commented on the FCA Mortgage Lending statistics for Q4 2023.
He said: “Another significant year on year decline in both gross mortgage advances and new mortgage commitments – a sign of future lending – reflects how the market is not fit for purpose under the current restraints, nor suited to the needs of aspiring homeowners. Affordability is a major issue for home ownership, as most of the available mortgage options for borrowers, typically short-term fixes that revert to higher rates after two to five years, are pricing many aspiring first-time buyers out of the market. Our research shows that the painful experience of securing a mortgage is actually putting off two in five first-time buyers from pursuing homeownership.
“A lack of support from the Spring Budget last week with no other effective alternatives put on the table does make it feel like the government has given up. If we want to see a healthy mortgage market which props up the UK economy, attracts new homeowners, and makes the prospect of owning a home an affordable reality, more needs to be done to restructure the market and provide workable alternatives, such as long-term fixed rate mortgages.”
