What the papers say- 6th and 7th August 2011

The Times reported this weekend on the growing demand faced by parents to help their children get on to the property ladder, and the need for more products to allow them to act as guarantors or release equity from their own properties to help First Time Buyers. Lenders including Bath, Leeds and National Counties Building Societies, and the Mortgage Works currently offer guarantor products, but experts say there needs to be more choice available to parents. For First Time Buyers looking to buy without any parental assistance, the Telegraph looked at the new ‘Rent to Buy’ mortgage launched by the Saffron Building Society, which requires just a 5% deposit and is available to borrowers who can demonstrate a minimum 12-month record of paying rent. Brokers welcomed this as a common-sense approach to lending, but also pointed out that raising an extra 5% towards the deposit could secure a cheaper rate. Lower interest rates were also the subject of much discussion in the Sunday Times, and in particular those on offer through UK Building Societies. Recent figures by Moneyfacts show that the five biggest lending banks currently only offer 5 of the top 20 mortgages, due in part to the fact that smaller lenders are quicker to pass on falls in swap rates, and can launch new products much faster. Brokers also praised building societies for their more flexible manual underwriting. Last week also saw Accord, the intermediary lending arm of the Yorkshire Building Society; enter the fast improving Buy-to-Let market. The Financial Times reported that their new range is only available through 2 channels, including London and Country Mortgages, and Accord are restricting lending to London and 33 other postcodes in the South East. With this new lender entering the market however, and Santander and Metro Bank expected to do the same later this year, the outlook is positive.