sábado, 19 de enero de 2013

Mortgages 'now more affordable', according to a Bank of Scotland report - Scottish Daily Record

MORTGAGE payments now account for 22% of disposable earnings for people living in Scotland, down from a peak of 38% five years ago.

It is beaten only by Northern Ireland, where 20% of disposable earnings go towards mortgage payments.
The UK average is 28% and in London the proportion is 36%, research by Bank of Scotland found.

The favourable mortgage affordability position would be a boost to those looking to own their own home, economists said.

The bank's study compared the final quarter of 2007 with the final quarter of last year and found that mortgage payments as a proportion of income have fallen by more than two-fifths, from 38% to 22%, over that time.             

The average monthly take-home wage in Scotland stands at £1,954 while the average monthly mortgage payment is £424, the bank said.

Lower house prices and reduced mortgage rates have been the "main drivers" behind the improvement in affordability, economists said.

In other findings, seven of the 10 most affordable local authority districts in the UK are in Scotland.             

West Dunbartonshire is the most affordable area in Scotland and the second most affordable in the UK, with typical mortgage payments accounting for 17.6% of average local earnings.

It is followed by Renfrewshire, North Ayrshire, South Ayrshire, North Lanarkshire, Glasgow and South Lanarkshire.             

Aberdeenshire, where mortgage payments on a new loan are 27.8% of average local earnings, is Scotland's least affordable area.           

Perth & Kinross, Edinburgh and East Renfrewshire are also among the least affordable.             

Mortgage payments for a new borrower have remained at their lowest level in relation to earnings for almost a decade, Bank of Scotland said.

Typical mortgage payments for a new borrower, both first-time buyers and homemovers, at the long-term average loan-to-value ratio have been stable at 21%-22% of disposable earnings over the past two years, officials said. It is said to be the lowest level since 2002-03 and below the average of 30% recorded since 1983.

Nitesh Patel, housing economist at Bank of Scotland, said: "Mortgage affordability has improved significantly over the past few years as a result of falls in house prices and cuts in mortgage rates. This development has been a key factor supporting housing demand and is expected to remain so in 2013 as interest rates remain low.

"The favourable mortgage affordability position is a boost for both those who already have a mortgage and those who are able to raise the required deposit to buy a home. Higher deposit requirements and low, or negative levels, of housing equity for many homeowners, however, mean that significant numbers of would-be home buyers and movers remain unable to enter the market."

The research is based on data from Bank of Scotland's housing statistics database, ONS data on average earnings and Bank of England statistics on average mortgage rates.

1 comentario:

  1. No doubt by the spending time they are making mortgage standards better and more reliable for consumers.

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