QCAS, the conveyancing division of Leeds corporate law firm Shulmans LLP, have attributed the rise to a combination of people looking to snap up cheap loans, loan-to-value ratios lowered and fears of interest rate rises in 2016
Victoria Mortimer, head of QCAS, said:
"Normally transactions are low in August due to holidays, but we’ve got more work on than ever compared with the same time in previous years.
“In fact the past 12 months has been incredible, as we’ve handled over £3 billion worth of property transactions. We believe this is due to a combination of factors; there are some great deals out there at the moment, the loan-to-value ratio constraints have been relaxed, and Bank of England Governor Mark Carney saying that a decision around a rate rise would come into sharper relief around the turn of the year."
Because of Mark Carney’s warning, Victoria believe that lenders will start to pull their lower interest rate products soon and also reduce the period over which rates can be fixed, hence the spike in new mortgage and remortgage transactions.
She added:
“Lenders’ purse strings have loosened, certainly, but everything remains within FCA regulations, so I cannot see a return to the sub-prime situation of past years. Having said that, I do see significantly increased confidence in mortgage lending. More people are taking new mortgages out, and many more are re-mortgaging. This is the busiest summer for lending in a very long time.”
