Mortgage lending drop could force sellers to drop pri...

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15 March 2023

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By Marc Shoffman

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Mortgage lending drop could force sellers to drop prices - claim

Sellers resistant to cutting asking prices may soon be left with little choice if the mortgage market remains depressed, a broker claims.

It comes as Bank of England data yesterday revealed that the value of new mortgage commitments in the final quarter of 2022 was 33.5% lower than the previous quarter and 24.5% below a year earlier at £58.4bn.

If the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic and period immediately thereafter is excluded, this was the lowest observed since 2015.

The data also showed that the value of outstanding balances with arrears increased for the first time since 2021, by 4.6% on the quarter and 1.3% on a year earlier, to £13.6bn.

Charlotte Nixon, mortgage expert at Quilter, said while this figures reflect the period after the mini-Budget and rates have since stabilised, a slower mortgage market could force prices down.

She said: “The knock-on impact of so many people shunning the property market is that we have seen house prices soften over the past few months.

“However, as of yet many sellers are unwilling to drop prices too far but if demand continues to be depressed sellers will have no option but to drop prices further if they are to achieve a sale.”