UK mortgage market could be hit by increased costs
The UK mortgage industry has warned UK homebuyers that regulatory changes which now force mortgage lenders to check customer financial strength in more depth will lead to increased fees for mortgage arrangements. This comes at a time when UK mortgage fees are starting to creep higher and higher, even ahead of the changes, and the marketplace is becoming more complicated to understand and appreciate.
It seems that mortgage lenders in the UK are looking to retain as much profit margin as possible, and even extend their profit margin where possible. As a consequence, UK homebuyers are now being forced to hand over larger and larger fees in order to get their hands on the significantly reduced liquidity in the market place. There are concerns that increased fees and reduced liquidity will again put the UK property sector under pressure, with today's GDP figures already reflecting an underlying weakness which many were shocked by.
It seems that the regulators have the best interests of consumers at heart but ultimately in the short term, fees are set to rise and consumers are going to pay the price. This should revert back to normal as and when competition returns to the sector but when this will happen is anybody's guess.
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