Did you know that mortgage approvals reached a 13-year high last year?

Banks and building societies approved 104,969 mortgages in November, the highest number seen since just before the financial crisis in 2007, according to new figures from the Bank of England.

And it didn’t stop there. David Ross, managing director of property data company Hometrack, said the market “enjoyed its busiest Christmas in over 10 years.”

The UK housing market boomed in 2020, with property prices soaring to a six-year high as people rushed to take advantage of the stamp duty holiday and re-evaluated their living arrangements during lockdown.

But market players caution that the boom times will be short-lived, with the end of the stamp duty holiday and rising unemployment expected to kneecap prices in 2021. Halifax, the UK’s largest mortgage lender, is forecasting an annual drop in house prices of between 2% and 5%.

But the market is expected to rally later in the year, as, enabled by the vaccine programme, the UK and the world shakes off COVID-19 and its economic turbulence.

The Government has confirmed that the housing market will remain open for business during the national lockdown. Safety is paramount and everyone should continue to play their part in reducing the spread of the virus by following the current government guidance.

Come and see us at Mortgage Solutions Belfast and let us help you get mortgage-ready for 2021.

Clare Murray,

Mortgage Advisor, Belfast

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