Mortgage market still "defying wider economic situation"

01 March 2021

John Phillips, national operations director, Just Mortgages and Spicerhaart said:

“Brexit appears to have had a negligible impact on the mortgage market as approvals remained robust in January. The strength of borrowing demonstrates how the market is still defying the wider economic situation. Despite fears that we are heading towards a cliff edge due to the stamp duty holiday deadline, January showed there is still a huge appetite to move. With another lockdown imposed, savings for those lucky enough to still be in employment are rising, and faced with more time at home, there will be more and more people considering a move.

“With rumours of government backed 95% LTV mortgages, a potential three-month extension to the stamp duty holiday and the rollout of the vaccine, the mortgage market should continue to be the shining beacon of hope for the economy in 2021.”

John Goodall, CEO at Landbay, said:

“Although mortgage approvals are down slightly in January from December they are on par with the highs of 2008 just before the global financial crisis. Many people taking out a mortgage in January will be hoping they can beat the stamp duty holiday, which is more likely if the three-month extension goes ahead as been suggested in the press. Mortgage borrowing is also high for January, again buoyed by the stamp duty holiday.”