Over the last few years there has been a lot of talk around deposits or, more specifically, the struggles that new buyers go through to save a deposit. With banks and building societies restricting lending and becoming seemingly more demanding when it comes to customer cash contributions, new buyers have become disillusioned with the whole idea and feel penalised by banks, building societies and home sellers in favour of older, more experienced purchasers.

2021 was the most first-time buyer saturated year in at least 10 years according to Halifax intermediaries coming off the back of a year of pandemic uncertainty.

The Nottinghamshire based building society, which has been managing its customers finances and lending money in the UK since 1869, has joined the lender panel of Primis meaning that Primis advisors and brokerages will now have access to The Mansfield’s range of residential and buy-to-let mortgage products.

With rent at an all-time high and independence being at the forefront of every young person’s mind, buying your first home can really make you feel like you have taken a huge leap in life and achieved something. But unfortunately, it’s not always as straight forward as saving a deposit and getting a mortgage.

This week another positive post-covid lender update has been revealed as Accord Mortgages announced that they will be increasing their maximum mortgage loan to values.

2021 saw an astronomical increase in properties going on the market and new buyers looking for mortgages. However, figures so far have already suggested that this is falling fast already in the first 10 days of 2022 and is due to fall even further as the months and years go on.

Hearing ‘Rates on the rise’ in the news has become something to dread but is that really sensible? And is it something we should actively worry about?

West Midlands based building society The West Brom have announced that they are launching 10 year fixed mortgage products, something that could be a massive game changer for buyers and remortgagers.

Home sale and purchase comparison site Reallymoving has predicted that there will be a sharp increase in the value of properties on the market in the first few months of 2022 which is great news for people looking to sell.

Has your fixed rate come to an end? Are you like one of the thousands of homeowners who has put off restructuring their mortgage over the past year and are now stuck on the lender’s ridiculously high standard variable rate?

In the financial services sector, there is one burning question on everybody’s lips, will the Bank of England raise interest rates? Its not entirely unbelievable that they wouldn’t but it seems that now with inflation rising to the highest levels in 10 years, the BOE need to do something calm the waters before things get out of hand.

At the beginning of this month Skipton building society hosted a virtual talk given by their key relationships manager Derek Williams and their Head of business development Paul Fenn. The discussion was designed to give brokers and mortgage customers alike a little insight into how Skipton have viewed the past year and what their predictions are looking into the crystal ball forward to 2022 (which is less than a month away!)