The return of mortgage products

Mortgage products are returning following a collapse in availability during lockdown. 77% of mortgage brokers expect lending to return to pre-pandemic levels within nine months. The increase in mortgage products will be slow and steady, lenders are prioritising existing customers and the back log of around 350,000 sales which did not complete during lockdown. An example of mortgages returning; the number of two-year fixed mortgage deals on a 90% and 95% LTV fell from 431 in March to 35 in May. At the beginning of June there were 61 products, although the growth is all in 90% products. It's encouraging to see mortgage products return, but borrowers with a 5% deposit will find few fixed rate deals due to more cautious lenders. Since the data was published by Moneyfacts at the beginning of June, agents have also reported a reduction in 90% LTV products.