Number of LTV mortgages 'has increased'

Monday, February 8th 2010

The number of loan-to-value (LTV) mortgages on the market in the UK has "soared" in recent months, according to a technical manager at mortgageforce .

Katie Tucker commented that an increasing number of lenders are considering higher LTV mortgage products than they may have done previously.

She noted that in particular, the number of 85 per cent to 90 per cent LTV products has increased, although it could be another six months before these deals get more competitive.

In the meantime, she advised potential buyers to consider saving an additional five per cent deposit as high LTV rates "are still very off-putting", though she anticipated better deals in the long-term.

Figures reported by the Bank of England on February 1st indicated that there were some 59,023 new mortgages approved during December 2009.

While this figure was lower than the 60,045 mortgages approved in the previous month, it was higher than October 2009, when 57,449 new mortgages were given the green light.