The average amount of time it takes to get a mortgage approved has increased from eight days in January this year to 22 days in November, according to online mortgage broker Trussle.
This is based on internal data on how long it takes lenders to approve mortgages after Trussle submits them.
Trussle says many lenders are feeling the heat of the stamp duty holiday rush but there are some who could help consumers squeeze their application approval in the remaining few weeks.
HSBC was the fastest UK lender for mortgage approval times in November with a median of 10 days, down from 19 days in September.
The reverse has been seen at Barclays who was the fastest lender in September with an average approval time of 10 days but that rose to 19 days in November.
The five lenders with the fastest median approval times in November 2020 were:
1. HSBC – 10 days 2. BM Solutions – 13 days 3. Halifax – 14 days 4. Accord – 14 days 5. Barclays – 19 days
Year-on year, Trussle’s data found that the average time from mortgage submission to approval had increased by 120 per cent since November 2019 from 10 days to 22 days.
In addition, the stamp duty holiday has created unprecedented levels of demand in mortgage applications and Trussle calculated that property completion times had risen to around 115 days
Trussle head of mortgages Miles Robinson comments: “2020 has been a tough year for everyone and lenders are certainly not immune from the pressure.
“The strains of adapting processes during the pandemic coupled with increased demand have seen many wait times extend to unprecedented levels.
“Mortgage approval times are extremely important to the wider process of purchasing a property. And as many race to beat the stamp duty deadline, securing a mortgage is quickly becoming imperative to saving up to £15,000 [for properties priced at £500,000].
“While it’s understandable for lenders to be under increased pressure, it’s encouraging to see HSBC bucking the trend and we’re hopeful that things will start to return to normality as we head into 2021 and the hopeful era of Covid vaccination.”
