Affordability issues have remained a key concern for mortgage holders and brokers, according to the latest data from Knowledge Bank‘s Criteria Index.
Even with the Bank of England base rate now on hold, the most popular searches remained those relating to borrowers struggling to reduce payments, with the top being ‘maximum age at the end of term’ and ‘missed or late payments.’
A person’s employment situation was also found to be of increasing relevance, with ‘time in current employment’ and ‘maximum age at end of term using employed income only’ featuring as the third and fourth most searched items.
For those topping up their home loan with a second charge, three of the top four searches included: ‘maximum loan-to-value’, ‘maximum loan amount’ and ‘maximum age at end of term’, and ‘time in current employment’.
Buy-to-let (BTL) searches reflected the ongoing challenges in the private rental sector (PRS) with the top searches including ‘first-time landlord’, ‘no requirement to be a homeowner’ and ‘minimum income – interest only / part and part single applicant’.
Knowledge Bank suggested that despite reports of smaller landlords selling up and leaving the sector, there are others who want to fill the gap.
In equity release, there were three notable searches in the top five, including for people wanting equity release on ‘ex-local authority houses’ and ‘sheltered accommodation’.
Nicola Firth (pictured), CEO of Knowledge Bank, said: “There are over half a million people still due to come to the end of their fixed rate mortgage before the end of the year.
“The hold put on interest rates this month may trigger confidence in people to find that next rate, but even though inflation has started to fall, there are many people really struggling with the cost of day-to-day living and the cost of their mortgage is a part of that.
“This is clearly reflected in the searches being carried out by their mortgage brokers and the fact that the second-most popular search is for people with missed or late payments just illustrates the challenges that many people are still facing.”
