Page 25 - January 2024

EXPERT ADVICE

What’s going to happen in the mortgage Increase in the number of 5-10% deposit What impact will recent events have on
market in 2024? mortgages available the Edinburgh property market?
The Edinburgh market is certainly better
Mortgage lenders are still showing a greater
amount of confidence with a wider range of placed and more robust than almost all the
David Lauder, Independent Mortgage Adviser with ESPC Mortgages, lenders willing to consider a 5% deposit. This rest of the UK and should still remain strong.
makes some predictions for the 2024 mortgage and property market. should help first-time buyers, who are perhaps
renting at present and in essence paying ESPC Mortgages
someone else’s mortgage. The challenge for To summarise, we at ESPC Mortgages remain
many clients with smaller deposits has been optimistic for 2024. The mortgage market is
n the current climate, making predictions As 2024 progresses, the hope is that buyers’ the common theme of properties selling well still competitive and there are good solutions
is a difficult task. However, here is some of and sellers’ confidence will return but it over the valuation; mortgage lending is based to be found, tailored to the client’s needs.
Iwhat I expect to see in the mortgage and certainly seems that there’s a bigger window on the lower of purchase price or valuation, The team look forward to this continuing
property market in 2024. of opportunity for buyers, particularly first-time which means any price paid over the value throughout 2024 and to another successful
buyers who have a better opportunity of getting cannot be used as part of the deposit for year of mortgage approvals.
Will 2024 be a sellers’ or a buyers’ market a property much closer to valuation. This will mortgage purposes. It’s for this reason that
in Edinburgh and the surrounding areas? allow most of their hard-earned deposit to be deposits often need to be higher than 5%. We We will work to help more and more people
As 2023 drew to a close, we saw the market used for the mortgage, as opposed to the offers expect these clients will have a better chance get their dream property and are available
slowly cooling down and less activity, which over valuation, which has been a regular feature in 2024 of getting properties closer to Home to help existing and new clients review their
is expected for the time of year. However, on in previous years. This should, in principle, mean Report value and therefore find it easier to existing mortgage arrangements to ensure
fund the mortgage deposit.
average, properties still achieved around 103% the buyer gets more house for their money, they have the most suitable solutions during
of Home Report valuation, although this is which can offset any potential increase in their mortgage journey.
a reduction on the 2022 average, which was monthly repayments with the rate increases we Hopefully, help may become available from
closer to 107%. saw last year. Government initiative schemes, which can
provide options, although no firm details of
Interest rate changes in 2023 and any new initiatives are currently available.
predictions for 2024
We saw regular Bank of England rate rises
during 2023 up to the present rate of 5.25%,
however there have been no increases since
September. Much will depend on inflation and
all its variables; however, the Bank of England
expects the base rate to remain consistent until
springtime, with the hope of a gradual decline
after this, to reach closer to 4.25% by 2024’s end.

The good news is that we’ve seen some stability
in mortgage interest rates recently and are now
regularly receiving fixed-rate reductions on new
products. However, interest rates are unlikely to ESPC mortgages offer expert independent mortgage advice in Edinburgh. Whether you are looking for first time buyer
mortgage advice, are interested in finding out more about buy-to-let mortgages or would like to re-mortgage, get in
return to the record low levels seen during the touch with the team on 0131 253 2920 or fsenquiries@espc.com
2010s, and more likely settle at a level below the
current, but higher than we saw post-Covid.

The initial consultation with an ESPC Mortgages adviser is free and without obligation. responsibility is accepted for any errors which, despite our precautions, it may contain.
The lenders typically price rates of swap rates Thereafter, ESPC Mortgages’ charges for mortgage advice are usually £395 (£345
for first-time buyers). YOUR HOME MAY BE REPOSSESSED IF YOU DO NOT KEEP The Financial Ombudsman Service is available to sort out individual complaints that
which are not always a direct correlation with the UP REPAYMENTS ON A MORTGAGE OR OTHER LOANS SECURED AGAINST IT. clients and financial services businesses aren’t able to resolve themselves. To contact
the Financial Ombudsman Service, please visit www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk.
Bank of England base rate. The information contained within this article is subject to the UK regulatory regime
and therefore restricted to consumers based in the UK. It has been provided in good ESPC (UK) Ltd is an Appointed Representative of Lyncombe Consultants Ltd which is
faith. Whilst every care has been taken in the preparation of the information, no authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
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