Mortgage products swell
News that the number of mortgages available on the market has broken through the 2,000 threshold for the first time in more than two years could provide the catalyst to stimulate more instructions and relieve the shortage of properties available on the market.
That's the view of a North Staffordshire estate agency, after latest research by financial information company Moneyfacts.co.uk revealed a rush of more than 400 new mortgage products coming onto the market since the start of the year.
Heywoods Property, based in Newcastle-under-Lyme, said that following the onset of the credit crunch hundreds of attractive mortgage products disappeared almost overnight, leaving homeowners reluctant to move as they were unable to negotiate a more attractive deal than they had before.
But it said that the recent boost in the number of new products to choose from was giving homeowners more options to finance a move to a new home.
The company also believes that a breakthrough in the psychological barrier of 2,000 would make headline reading and act as a positive signal to anyone thinking of moving.
And this, it added, could eventually lead to a welcome increase in the number of properties going up for sale.
According to Moneyfacts, there are now 2,003 mortgage products available - the first time that there have been more than 2,000 since December 2008.