Post Office beefs up mortgage operation
The Post Office has introduced a total revamp of its mortgage operation which has seen the introduction of a base rate tracker, two and three-year fixed-rate deals and a five-year mortgage agreement which has topped the best buy league. The five-year deal is fixed at 5.09% although it only offers 60% loan to value and comes with a rather hefty £599 arrangement fee.
At a time when the UK mortgage market is struggling to regain the competitive nature we saw just two years ago it is interesting to see the Post Office revamp its mortgage arrangements and come out fighting. However, it is still a little disappointing to see that the better mortgage arrangements are only available on a 60% loan to value basis which effectively cuts out first-time buyers from the picture. It is first-time buyers who are the lifeblood of the UK property market, allowing those who acquired property years before to sell up and move on.
It is hoped that the increasing competition supplied by the Post Office will at least encourage other mortgage providers to match or at least improve their rates in the short to medium term. The UK economy needs a buoyant and competitive mortgage market to increase liquidity, keep rates low and allow the UK property market to recover.
Share this..
Related stories
Is the Irish financial sector falling apart?
News that a number of directors at Irish Life have been forced to fall on their swords after the discovery of a €7 billion loan to Anglo Irish (a bank which is now under Irish government control) has prompted many to question what will happen next in this volatile period for the Irish economy. Much like Gordon Brown, the Irish authorities had initially been praised for their swift action in...
Read MoreWhy is the UK mortgage market so uncompetitive?
As the newspapers and analysts continue to talk about recovery in the UK property market there is still concern as to why the UK mortgage market is still very uncompetitive in real terms. While we see the headlines of rock bottom mortgage rates, there are very few people able to obtain these deals because of the requirement for such a high level of deposit. There is a general consensus that first-...
Read MoreOver-50s savings survey released by Alliance & Leicester
Around 80 per cent of over-50s are continuing to make retirement savings, Alliance & Leicester has revealed.In its new savings research, the financial firm also found that 42 per cent of the age group have either made - or are making - "sacrifices" in order to boost their savings.The current credit crunch, which has knocked the value of many pensions investments, was also found to be a big cause f...
Read MoreWill problems in Europe affect the UK mortgage market?
As problems in the European money markets continue to grow there is concern that at some point this will impact upon the UK mortgage market and the already fragile funding situation. We have already seen money market rates rise over the last few days and they are more than likely to increase further in the days to come. So what will happen if the UK mortgage market is impacted yet again? The UK...
Read MoreAbbey National encounters technical problems
It has been revealed that many Abbey National customers have been affected by technical problems at the UK bank which have seen inwards and outgoing payments remaining unprocessed over the last 24 hours. While the bank has confirmed that no customer will lose out with regards to charges because of the technical problems, the bank was unable to give a timescale for processing all payments even know...
Read More