The latest report from the financial information site revealed that last month saw a rise of 145 mortgage products, taking the total now available to 2,404. The strongest increase was seen in the 75% loan-to-value (LTV) and 80% LTV tiers, with jumps of 43 and 49 products respectively.
Despite the monthly rise, the contrast from this point in 2019 is stark. In November last year there were more than double the number of products available to the nation’s borrowers compared to the current totals.
While product numbers have increased, so too have interest rates on those products. The Moneyfacts study found that the typical rate charged on a two-year fixed rate rose 0.05% over the month to 2.43%, while for five-year deals the rate increased by 0.08% to 2.70%. This is the fourth straight month of interest rate rises.
Borrowers also need to grapple with mortgage deals being available for a shorter period, with the average shelf life for a product declining to 28 days over the month, a drop of two days. According to Moneyfacts this is the lowest the typical shelf life has been since August 2018.
Eleanor Williams, finance expert at Moneyfacts, pointed to rocketing demand for housing from buyers as people look to complete deals before the Stamp Duty holiday deadline in March, and suggested that the growth in product numbers would be welcome news.
She continued: “Availability increased across all the LTV tiers this month, with the exception of the limited 95% and 100% tiers where there was no change, and the smallest fluctuation was seen in the next highest LTV bracket at 90%. This could be indicative of the fact that lenders are focusing their offerings towards traditionally lower-risk borrowers with a larger equity or deposit.”
However Williams warned that the “fluid” market had led to the average shelf life dropping to the lowest figure seen since Moneyfacts’ started tracking them, which had coincided with the Bank of England increasing the base rate from 0.5% to 0.75% in August 2018.
“It is half the average shelf life we recorded of 56 days in February of this year and suggests that borrowers have a limited time to secure their product of choice.”
