Lockdowns across the world have impacted everything from putting fuel in your car, to buying your next house. Prices across the board have fluctuated wildly and national debt has grown considerably as governments scramble to keep their citizens safe.
A number of my friends were in the middle of buying a property when the spring lowdown occurred and at least 75% of them fell through. The uncertainty around income, job security and what the world would look like in twelve months stopped people in their tracks. However, as time has passed, it seems that it is not as impossible as originally thought. And with the interest rate being kept at its lowest level in decades, the temptation to move is huge, you only need to check your mortgage rates on tools such as Mortgagecalculator.uk to see that it might be the best time to lock in a new mortgage.
However, whilst the ridiculously low-interest rate is very tempting, there are a number of reasons you may not want to move just yet. I am not talking about scare-mongering factors, such as the fact you may lose your job or catch COVID-19 and be unable to pay off your mortgage, I’m talking about the resulting change in the industry caused by the virus.
In short, the coronavirus lockdown affected mortgages in various different ways. Firstly mortgage approvals fell as agents couldn’t visit properties to value them and add them to the market. This results in less choice for potential buyers.
Panic meant that many lenders tightened their lending criteria asking for larger deposits, whilst others removed some mortgage deals from the market altogether. This meant the number of options for customers reduced significantly.
Finally, with the government offering a ‘no questions asked’ mortgage holiday, the UK saw over 1.6m homeowners enjoy a break from repaying their mortgage. This kept properties off the market that might have been added months earlier.
So whilst now might be a great time to get a mortgage locked in for 2, 3, or 5 years, you may be surprised by the lack of mortgage deals and available properties to choose from.