Comment from John Philips - HMRC Housing transactions

21 March 2023

John Phillips, national operations director at Just Mortgages said: “Once again in the midst of relentless gloom the housing market performs better than expected. February’s transactions may have fallen in comparison with last year but they did show a small increase from last month.

“We seem obsessed in this country with talking down the housing market but house prices are up, mortgage rates are falling and our brokers across the country are reporting an increase in enquiries. Lending policy has been tightened as a result of pressures on household budgets and there will certainly be a payment shock for those borrowers coming of a fixed rate this year but professional brokers can still find a great deal for their clients.

“An unexpected boost for borrowers may also come on Thursday when we will see if uncertainty in the global banking sector will curb the MPC’s decision to raise interest rates again. Brokers need to ramp up their marketing activity and let existing and new borrowers know that professional help is widely available and easily accessible.”