A leading
mortgage lender says 2005 ended "on a high note" and the new year will be "interesting" for the
mortgage market.
Bradford &Bingley's quarterly
mortgage market review shows that
mortgage lending by the end of last year rose to £28.5 billion – a record high.
"The
housing crash some doom mongers forecast never materialised and
house prices ended the year 5.1 per cent up on 2004," comments the
mortgage development manager at the mortgage lender, Duncan Pownall.
He predicts the housing and
mortgage markets will stabilise further and that house prices will increase by between two and three per cent towards the end of this year.
Mr Pownall explains that the "fundamentals that support the housing market", like unemployment and
interest rates, are expected to remain stable.
He predicts that the first six months of the year will see the
interest rate reduced by at least 0.25 per cent, "which will further stimulate activity".
Potential
mortgage borrowers are being urged to shop around for the
best deal when they try to find a mortgage
"This year will also see many
lenders offering fantastic retention deals in a bid to keep their existing customer base," says Mr Pownall.
