Cooper Associates comment:-

The data revealed by the Bank of England supports the theory the hike in mortgage activity seen in Q1 this year was largely due to the stamp duty holiday for first time buyers ending on 24^th March. It comes as no surprise that application approvals have fallen.

Mortgage credit scoring criteria tightening is a direct consequence of lenders desperately trying to mitigate their own risk as a double dip recession looms. Mortgage rate rises due to wholesale funding costs and severe restrictions on interest-only lending are examples. The real casualties are existing homeowners left in a position where they are unable to remortgage due to the changing and tightening criteria.

Cooper Associates provides advice on mortgages from the whole of the market. For an initial consultation without obligation, please contact our head office on 01823 273880 or email us at info@cooperassociatesltd.com

Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage

We do not normally charge a fee as we are usually paid by the lender. However, you have the option to pay us a fee and receive any commission which we are paid by the lender. The precise amount will depend upon your circumstances but we estimate that it will be 1% of the amount borrowed.

Siobhan will shortly undertake the prestigious “Treating Customers Fairly” industry qualification to further enhance her skills within this arena.

Senior Manager, Samantha Cooper, comments; – “We are fortunate in that we are able to attract such calibre to our administration department and we look forward to watching Siobhan prosper in a new environment”.

Peter has over 30 years experience in providing financial advice, with a particular focus on inheritance tax planning and investments.

Cooper Associates Wealth Management Ltd director, Lee Cooper, commented, ‘We are pleased that Peter has joined us, and the added experience he brings to the team, particularly in the inheritance planning market, further enhances our offering”.

For further details on Cooper Associates Wealth Management Ltd please see www.cooperassociateswm.com

Cooper Associates provides advice on mortgages from the whole of the market. For an initial consultation without obligation, please contact our head office on 01823 273880 or email us at info@cooperassociatesltd.com

Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage

We do not normally charge a fee as we are usually paid by the lender. However, you have the option to pay us a fee and receive any commission which we are paid by the lender. The precise amount will depend upon your circumstances but we estimate that it will be 1% of the amount borrowed.

Cooper Associates comment:-

Although not finalised, the proposed changes to “Interest-only” lending by the Financial Services Authority (FSA), has placed huge responsibility on lenders to assess the suitability of proposed repayment vehicles. As a result, lending criteria has tightened as lenders try to mitigate the risk of being held responsible for inadequate repayment strategies. This is hugely disappointing to those borrowers who require the flexibility of an interest-only mortgage and to those who are no longer able to remortgage due to their current repayment vehicle being deemed as unsuitable.

Cooper Associates provides advice on mortgages from the whole of the market. For an initial consultation without obligation, please contact our head office on 01823 273880 or email us at info@cooperassociatesltd.com

Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage

We do not normally charge a fee as we are usually paid by the lender. However, you have the option to pay us a fee and receive any commission which we are paid by the lender. The precise amount will depend upon your circumstances but we estimate that it will be 1% of the amount borrowed.

Cooper Associates comment:-

As stated in “The Mortgage Market 2012” E Newsletter, the rise of mortgage rates in light of the eurozone crisis was unavoidable, as lenders struggle against the cost of increased wholesale funding. However, it must be considered that despite these marginal increases, mortgage affordability, according to Halifax, remains at its highest for 14 years.

Cooper Associates provides advice on mortgages from the whole of the market. For an initial consultation without obligation, please contact our head office on 01823 273880 or email us at info@cooperassociatesltd.com

Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage

We do not normally charge a fee as we are usually paid by the lender. However, you have the option to pay us a fee and receive any commission which we are paid by the lender. The precise amount will depend upon your circumstances but we estimate that it will be 1% of the amount borrowed.

It was the year of ‘uncertainty,’ with widely fluctuating opinions from leading economists on whether an interest rate increase was imminent, whether the economy was going to recover or contract further and the implications of macroeconomics on both the mortgage and the housing market.

Although limited, there were reasons to be positive about the mortgage market. The return of some lenders, coupled with higher loan-to-value products, reflected the intense political pressure on institutions to lend. Despite these improvements, the market, however, remained subdued.

2012

Looking ahead, it is unlikely that significant improvements to the conditions affecting the mortgage market will be seen in 2012. The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) anticipates that gross lending will fall to £133bn compared with levels of £138bn in 2011. The changes we expect in 2012 represent a continuing precarious economy and we anticipate the following:

Slight increase in short term mortgage rates due to the high cost of wholesale funding faced by lenders in light of the euro-zone crisis and sovereign debt worries.
Improvements in buy to let finance, with the return of higher loan-to-value products. Additionally, more lenders will return to this market as the demand for these products from landlord’s increases. This increased demand will be a result of a rising number of individuals being forced to rent due to the difficulties faced in obtaining a mortgage of their own.
Innovative products for first time buyers with a smaller deposit. In light of the stamp duty concession ending in March, it is possible we will see an increase in first time buyer activity during Q1. The effect of the concession ending may be offset by the government’s recently announced new-build mortgage indemnity scheme but with details still to emerge, it is unlikely to have a significant impact during 2012.

Summary

Interest rates look to remain historically low for the foreseeable future, this having a positive influence on mortgage affordability. However, we do not expect access to mortgage finance to improve significantly throughout the year.

Rob and James have been recruited to further strengthen our mortgage advisory team, both of whom have joined us from an existing financial services company.

Cooper Associates senior manager, Samantha Cooper, commented, ‘We are naturally delighted that such high calibre individuals have chosen to work for us, and pleased further by the continued expansion of the business despite a challenging climate’.

Cooper Associates provides advice on mortgages from the whole of the market. For an initial consultation without obligation, please contact our head office on 01823 273880 or email us at info@cooperassociatesltd.com

Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage

We do not normally charge a fee as we are usually paid by the lender. However, you have the option to pay us a fee and receive any commission which we are paid by the lender. The precise amount will depend upon your circumstances but we estimate that it will be 1% of the amount borrowed.

House prices have risen for the third consecutive month, according to the latest figures from the Nationwide.

Cooper Associates comment:-

Confusing? Yes, extremely.

The reporting of house price movements is extremely inconsistent, and with the Nationwide, the Halifax, the Land Registry, the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors, Savills, Rightmove and Hometrack all providing contradictory data, it’s simply unacceptable.

Cooper Associates provides advice on mortgages from the whole of the market. For an initial consultation without obligation, please contact our head office on 01823 273880 or email us at info@cooperassociatesltd.com

Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage

We do not normally charge a fee as we are usually paid by the lender. However, you have the option to pay us a fee and receive any commission which we are paid by the lender. The precise amount will depend upon your circumstances but we estimate that it will be 1% of the amount borrowed.

With 2012 quickly approaching, and against a backdrop of worsening economic conditions, economists are forecasting a gloomy outlook for the UK housing market.

The Economic Background

• The economic recovery weakened noticeably in the third quarter, this prompting the Bank of England’s MPC to launch a second bout of quantitative easing.
• Employment growth has turned negative once again and forward-looking measures suggest further job losses to come.
• The escalating crisis in the euro-zone will limit any boost to growth from net trade.
• Housing market activity remains well below the level that historically has been consistent with rising house prices.
• Lenders’ wholesale funding costs appear to have spiked on the back of increased stresses in the interbank market resulting from the euro-zone crisis. Consequently, mortgage interest rates could soon start to rise and choke the demand for mortgage credit.
• Even without higher mortgage interest rates, households are rapidly approaching the point at which the benefits of previous interest rate cuts will have been completely eroded by the rising cost of living.
• Relative to historical norms, the house price-to-earnings (HPE) ratio suggests that housing is 20pc overvalued. Were house prices to remain flat and incomes to continue growing at their modest pace of 2pc year, it would take a decade for the HPE ratio to be restored to its long-run average.

So What Do We Think?

With leading economists predicting further falls in the housing market, and against the backdrop of worsening economic data, it’s clear the UK housing market will remain subdued for the foreseeable future.

However, and more optimistically, there are reasons to be positive about the UK housing market, and some of these are as follows:-

• Mortgage approvals rose to a 20-month high in August.
• Other pressures on household’ finances might ease next year. For example, the impact of the fiscal squeeze is at its greatest in this fiscal year.
• The economic outlook makes it quite conceivable that Bank Rate will not rise until 2014.
• The average deposit required by a first-time buyer has come down from 25% to 20% over the past year.

As with previous forecasts we remain consistent in forecasting a passive UK housing market, with house prices neither rising nor falling in the next three to five years. The key data, in our opinion, is the house price-to-earnings ratio which suggests house prices are overvalued relative to earnings, and for this reason it is unlikely house prices will increase in value (in the next three to five years). However, our British desire to own property remains and this will prevent further price reductions.

Purchasing a property, whether for personal use or for investment purposes, remains a sound long-term investment.

* Capital Economics is our primary source of economic data and opinion.

Equally as impressive was Samantha Cooper’s climb of Kilimanjaro, which proved to be extremely challenging but a challenge conquered nevertheless.

Cooper Associates employees regularly participate in fund raising activities, all for the purpose of raising money for Dreams Come True. Dreams Come True is a charity that helps make dreams come true for terminally ill children aged between 2 and 21.

 If you would like to make a donation to help a ‘Dream Child’ please visit   http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/CooperAssociates

Up and coming fund raising events

22nd April 2012 – Virgin London Marathon 2012

Managing Director, Lee Cooper, and senior administrator, Katherine Stone, are participating in the 2012 London marathon. The 26.2 mile run will be a serious challenge but one in which will hopefully raise significant funds for Dreams Come True.

Summer 2012 – Three Peak Challenge

Office Manager, Lisa Rawle, will be enduring the challenge of walking the highest mountains in England, Scotland and Wales within a 24 hour period. The challenge is epic and Lisa hopes to raise significant funds for Dreams Come True.

Cooper Associates provides advice on mortgages from the whole of the market. For an initial consultation without obligation, please contact our head office on 01823 273880 or email us at info@cooperassociatesltd.com

Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage

We do not normally charge a fee as we are usually paid by the lender. However, you have the option to pay us a fee and receive any commission which we are paid by the lender. The precise amount will depend upon your circumstances but we estimate that it will be 1% of the amount borrowed.