BoE comment: Property market at full tilt

29 June 2021

Jonathan Sealey, CEO at specialist lender Hope Capital, said: “It’s reassuring to see the market bounce back in May with mortgage borrowing at £6.6bn, compared to the low of £3bn in April. It really underlines how April was very much a hangover from March’s peak of more than £11bn.

“As we approach the stamp duty deadline with just a day to go, the property market has been at full tilt trying to get deals over the line time. This activity is reflected in the Nationwide’s house price data also out today, suggesting UK house prices rose 13.4% in the year to June - the fastest pace since 2004.

“However, that is only going to make it harder for first time buyers and given that home movers make up a large proportion of the transactions taking advantage of the stamp duty holiday, it’s likely borrowing is going to drop again from July.

“So, while there is still some uncertainty out there and as such people need to be aware of all the options when buying a property. This includes the specialist finance sector and the flexibility and speed of turnaround that it offers.”