Overview
- Surveyors in RICS’s March report recorded a sharp drop in buyer interest and agreed sales, with net balances of minus 39% for enquiries and minus 34% for sales, and unsold stock rising to about 47 homes per branch.
- Average fixed deals edged lower today to 5.89% for two‑year and 5.77% for five‑year mortgages, but both are still roughly one percentage point higher than at the start of March, according to Moneyfacts.
- Lenders pulled many deals during March and the number of available products fell by about 17%, cutting the choice of lower‑rate options for borrowers, Moneyfacts said.
- The Bank of England’s lender survey points to mortgage availability increasing into May, though the poll ran from February 23 to March 13 and does not capture the later market repricing linked to the Middle East conflict.
- Defaults are picking up, with secured lending defaults at 6.2% in the first quarter, and risk analysts estimate recent rate jumps add roughly £1,000 a year to payments on a typical £200,000 mortgage.