Demand for five-year mortgages expected to grow
April 9, 2008 by admin
Filed under News, News-Mortgages
The number of homeowners looking for longer-term fixed mortgage deals is set to rocket, a leading bank has reported.
Research by Abbey Mortgage Index has shown that buyers seeking a fixed deal lasting five years have doubled in a month to 24 per cent.
The popularity of two-year fixed-term deals rose by just three per cent to 10 per cent.
This is in contrast to tracker mortgages which only five per cent of borrowers said they would opt for.
Nici Audhlam-Gardiner, director of Abbey Mortgages, said: “Recent reports about the shrinking mortgage market seem to have had a profound effect on borrowers.”
Abbey advised mortgage providers to prepare for a rush on longer term deals as borrowers seek stability amid the credit crunch.
The decrease in the availability of mortgage deals is guiding homeowners towards more lengthy mortgages suggests Ms Audhlam-Gardiner.
“Homeowners faced with a dwindling number of mortgage deals seem keener than ever to lock themselves into a deal for longer than two years such as a five-year fix,” she added.
Statistics by Moneysupermarket.com revealed that mortgage deals have decreased by 60 per cent compared to before the economic slowdown
Increasing numbers of students preferring to save over travel
January 17, 2008 by admin
Filed under News, News-Banking
Increasing numbers of students are foregoing a gap year to go travelling, preferring to put money away for property, according to new statistics. 
Findings from Abbey revealed that 42 per cent of respondents are opting to save towards a deposit on a first home.
This is twice the number of students saving up to go travelling or for a new car after they have graduated.
Nici Audhlam-Gardiner, head of Abbey Mortgages said: “House prices have brought in a harsh new reality for students.”
“They now need to weigh up the benefits of travelling against jumping straight into a career and being able to afford to get onto the property ladder,” he added.
A further 21 per cent of past graduates thought they could definitely have saved more money while at university, while 2.9 million (17 per cent) wished that they had worked harder and played less, according to the figures.
Recent research from Abbey showed that up to 15 million Brits suffered financially as a result of being unprepared for big life changes.
