How The January 2021 Lockdown Will Affect The Property & Mortgage Market

From Tuesday 5^th January, it was announced that you’ll still be able to purchase or sell a home during the January 2021 lockdown, as well as move home if you need to.

During the most recent Government announcement on 4th January 2021, the British Prime Minister Boris Johnson confirmed that the UK would enter national lockdown 3.0 on 5th January.

Now that we are into the thick of Lockdown 3.0, we can say that it is affecting many sectors in different ways. Some sectors have been treated more generously than others and are still continuing as normal. This lockdown is very similar to the previous November 2020 lockdown, however, the length of this lockdown is going to be around 8 weeks.

In terms of how the property market is performing, it’s safe to say that it’s still standing comfortably on its feet and everything is looking like it’s going to carry on as normal. This great news for the market, as it means that you’ll still be able to attend house viewings and continue your property purchase or sale.

Everything may be up and running as usual, but you should know that there may be some small delays during the process with some businesses. Solicitors and Surveyors are working the hardest that they can under the new restrictions, unfortunately, these changes may affect their speed of service. You have to also consider that the Stamp Duty Cut closing date is approaching, which means that there is already a lot of applicants applying to try and make the most of this deal.

Just because things are taking a little longer than usual doesn’t mean that you should put off your mortgage application, everything that could be completed before the lockdown still can be in the lockdown.

Safety Measures for Home Movers

The most important thing to remember if you are on your Moving Home journey is to stay safe and follow the restrictions that have been put into place. The government’s guidelines consist of things that we have been getting told for months. For example, you will need to sanitise when taking up house viewings and wear your mask etc.

These latest government’s guidelines must be followed to ensure that everything is completed safely. So, if you are planning to/ are Moving Home in Liverpool, stay safe and stick to the rules indicated in the guidelines.

90% Mortgages are Still Available to Buyers

Yes… you read that right, 90% have made a slow comeback to the market. Lenders have started to gain enough confidence in the market to bring them back.

Hopeful applicants are trying to get their hands on these deals as most of them have been saving for their deposit all year. As a Mortgage Broker in Liverpool, we usually find that applicants hold a 5-10% deposit and that’s why it’s such a big deal that these sort of deal have made a return. Early 2020, you didn’t see these deals anywhere, some lenders even lowered to 80% mortgages which is a 20% deposit!

If you still can’t quite reach the 10% deposit minimum, you are in luck as there are other ways to grab yourself a 90% mortgage. It could be within your interests to take advantage of one of the two Help to Buy schemes. If you are a First Time Buyer in Liverpool the Help to Buy Equity Loan scheme or the Help to Buy Shared Ownership scheme could be for you. We have lots of helpful Help to Buy Mortgage Advice on our website if you want to find out more information.

An Extension on Mortgage Payment Holidays

Mortgage Payment Holidays were introduced in the March 2020 lockdown as a way for homeowners to postpone their mortgage payments for a short period. You could only use the scheme for a maximum of 6 months and the closing date was 31st October 2020. In good news, the government have announced that the Mortgage Payment Holiday scheme will be extended to 31st March 2021.

If you have yet to take up your offer for a Mortgage Payment Holiday, you’ll be able to request a full 6 month break from your mortgage payments. We advise that you only take one out if you really need to.

If you’ve already taken a Mortgage Payment Holiday of less than 6 months, you will be able to extend your existing holiday up until the 6 month mark.

Still Here, Still Open

Your Mortgage Broker in Liverpool is still hard at work and operating as normal during this lockdown. We are doing everything that we can to continue as normal so that we can carry on delivering our amazing fast and friendly mortgage advice service. Operating 7 days a week from 7am – 10pm, your Mortgage Broker in Liverpool is here to help.

All customers will still benefit from a free initial mortgage consultation, no matter the situation.

For a brief rundown of the current status of the property and mortgage market, please see our video from company director Malcolm Davidson, recorded the following day.