A lot to consider in the current climate - Comment on the UK Finance household lending update for Q1 from Richard Pike at Phoebus Software

08 June 2022

Richard Pike, Phoebus Software sales and marketing director, says “With applications trending above the number of completions there is clearly a disconnect somewhere in our current market. Hardly surprising when the average time it is taking from instruction to completion has risen 48% since 2020. If the rate of applications continues on its current path, then the trend will be similar to that pre-pandemic. However, there is a lot more to consider in the current climate and it would be optimistic to think that we will to see this trend continuing over the next few months. Although first-time buyers have faired well recently it is difficult to see, with real-time wages floundering against the rising rate of inflation, that the current downward drift will change.

“On the other hand, the number of remortgage applications is on an upward path as borrowers try to avoid rising interest rates by locking into a fixed rate deal.”