“It feels like all the money we’ve saved has been for nothing”- First-time house buyers in Salford fear being frozen out of market following mini-budget

Prospective home-owner in Salford fear they won’t be eligible for a mortgage, following a decline in the number of mortgage products.

The volatility of the market and the weakening of the pound has caused many lenders to remove their mortgage products from the market. This has resulted in an increase in price of the mortgages available in Salford.

Following the announcement of the mini budget last month, 3,961 residential mortgage products were available nationwide, according to reports from MoneyFacts. Today there are only 2,931. Prior to the rise in inflation back in December 2021, this figure stood at over 5,000.

Ian Walker, 23, has been trying to buy a house with his partner for months. As a result of the Chancellor’s mini budget, he has been forced to return to the drawing board.

He said: “No budget would have been better for those trying to get on to the property ladder.”

Ian has held off putting in any more offers, following the banks withdrawals of many of their products.

“I’ve had a couple of friends who have put offers in on houses and had their mortgages kind of go through:, he said. “Then in line with the mini budget, they’ve had that all retracted and had to go back from square one.”

Kirsty Kelly, a Mortgage Broker based in Salford, has been trying to stay in close contact with all her clients. She said: “It might be that we’ve got a really great rate, but if I’m pestering you for your documents, there’s a good reason why. We don’t know if that rate is going to be there tomorrow.”

The average yearly income for Salford is around £32,000. Kirsty did a rough calculation to see what that could get you in Salford, and found that buyers could ‘potentially’ lend up to £133,000. She added that this is ‘just with one lender’ and that others may lend more or less.

She said: “Looking at the housing market at the moment, you’d be looking at a smaller property, two beds, around that.”

Martin Hill is the Director of Hills Estate Agents. He explained:“The uncertainty in the market has left lenders feeling exposed. This is why they’re withdrawing lower rates and coming back with higher ones.”

As the products available are reduced, and increase of competition forms, he added: “If you take this competition, you tend to find that there’s less value in the market, you’ll then find what is available, people will have to pay more for.”