First-time buyers bearing the brunt of mortgage market upheaval: Moneyfacts

Despite mortgage turmoil easing in April, first-time buyers remain under pressure from reduced choice and stretched affordability, the latest data from Moneyfacts shows.

Mortgage product choice has contracted by around 10% since the start of March, with deals at 90% LTV or above falling by 14%.

Overall product choice rose month-on-month, up by 583 options, but this represents less than half of the deals lost the month prior (1,283) when lenders pulled products from sale due to uncertainty over the future path of interest rates.

Over the past month, mortgage product churn has calmed, with the average shelf-life of a deal doubling from eight days to 16 days.

Since the start of April, the average two-year fixed rate fell by 0.06%, and the average five-year fell by 0.07%, to 5.78% and 5.68%, but these rates stand higher than at the start of March, 4.84% and 4.96%, respectively. Average two and five-year fixed rates at 95% LTV remain above 6%.

The Moneyfacts Average Mortgage Rate fell for the first time month-on-month since January, to 5.66%, but remains higher than at the start of March at 4.90%.

Rachel Springall, finance expert at Moneyfacts, said: “Borrowers may feel partially relieved by the period of calm after absolute mortgage mayhem, but first-time buyers bear the brunt. Lenders slowly brought back deals and shifted to making cuts over hikes during April. Unfortunately, there is much more room for improvement, as the product choice overall is still down by around 10% since the start of March, as less than half the deals lost have returned. First-time buyers will be frustrated to see the choice of higher LTV options drop by 14% since the start of March (90%, 95% and 100% LTV).

“The global pressures caused by the conflict in the Middle East completely flipped the expected path of inflation and future rate setting, which caused lenders to pull deals and hike fixed rates. Thankfully, the calm of product churn during April compared to the upheaval in March, resulted in the average shelf-life of a deal returning to a more realistic window, doubling from around a week to just over two weeks (eight days to 16 days).

“First-time buyers or those with little equity of just 5% hoping to grab a two or five-year fixed deal will find average fixed rates remain above 6%. It is essential that new buyers in particular feel supported, to keep the market moving, but affordability strains are evident. Higher interest rates, the lack of affordable housing and the potential for a spike in the cost of living can all damage the mortgage market. Support and innovation from lenders will be vital to keep the market moving. The strain of high payments will make borrowers consider a longer-term deal, such as for 35 years or 40 years to make initial payments more manageable. However, this means paying more interest overall, so making overpayments where possible to reduce the debt and mortgage term is wise."