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Home builder's 4.99% mortgage 'shows market is moving again'



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Published Date: 27 August 2008
A SCOTTISH home builder has launched an exclusive discount mortgage deal to attract business during the credit crunch.



Stewart Milne Homes, which operates throughout Scotland and northern England, is offering buyers of a range of its properties a 4.99 per cent fixed mortgage for the first three years.

The mortgages, which are financed by the firm, are bei
ng offered in an attempt to re-energise the housing market.

Sean Gardner, a director of MoneyExpert.com, said: "Products such as this from Stewart Milne offer clear evidence that the mortgage market is starting to get moving again, and with other providers dropping their rates in recent weeks there's a definite air of competition.

"The product's obviously unconventional, only being applicable to certain properties, but at 4.99 per cent it is definitely worth considering if those properties are suitable."

Steve Turner, a spokesman for the Home Builders Federation, described the offer as "innovative". He said: "Builders are looking at all ways to attract customers at the moment. Mortgage rates are actually back to where we were in August 2007, which is a positive sign for builders.

"The crux of the problem is the lack of liquidity in the lending market, as if you can't get a mortgage it doesn't matter what incentives are being offered."





The full article contains 225 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
Page 1 of 1

  • Last Updated: 26 August 2008 11:40 PM
  • Source: The Scotsman
  • Location: Edinburgh
 
1

Col. Blimp­IV*,

27/08/2008 01:23:35
It hardly matters what the Mortgage rate is, if lenders have tightened the criteria for lending ie requiring deposits, no more 7x salary nonsense etc.
2

Rulesbutnotrulers,

Federation, not separation 27/08/2008 07:18:13
It's high time the Stamp Duty tax was paid by the seller, not the buyer. The former can afford it from the proceeds and has the joy of a sale to comfort any residual pain.
3

gus1940,

Edinburgh 27/08/2008 08:04:13
What an oxymoronic headline.

Far from showing the market on the move again - more like a sign of desperation.
4

mr angry,

ayrshire 27/08/2008 08:54:47
#4. Are you thick , since people could be in negative equity or be lucky to get the price they paid for the house , what makes you think they should pay.
5

hasitever occurred to you that you might be wrong?,

27/08/2008 09:47:39
#6 because they're selling. people should have sold houses like they sell cars x amount of pounds ONO! estate agents and the bottom of the pile solicitors have inflated prices to inflate their fee.
6

Rosscobhoy,

27/08/2008 10:00:45
#4 & #6

Be glad you live in Scotland. Unless you are very well off you probably won't have to pay anything near the SDRT threshold for a decent house anyway.
7

WKKB,

27/08/2008 12:25:29
I have to agree with #4. No one knows why someone is selling a property. Sometimes there are large profits coming from the sale but too many times, especially these days, there are very small margins/equity. It seems people (buyers) are trying to make the seller pay for it all (i.e. surveys)on the assumption that the seller is making a killing on the equity in the property.

As for this article it's true that unless mortgage lenders relax their criteria even the lower interest isn't going to help the first or second time buyer.
8

Anthony,

Glasgow 27/08/2008 14:11:16
It's surely a bit of an excentric interpretation by moneyexpert.com to see this as evidence of the morgage market getting moving again? It could just as readily be seen as desperation.
9

The Former Mr. Angry,

Perth 27/08/2008 16:21:42
It's all very well buying a house at 4.99% but if its value is likely to continue on a downward trend for the next couple of years at least you'd be far better sticking what money you have in a high-interest account. The day of mickey-mouse prices for walls you could spit through is over. Just let the market settle as it will do. The more this corpse has revival attempts the more it resists!
10

Bien E. Bien,

27/08/2008 16:26:38
Builders supplying their own mortgages? Is this not in part how Toll Brothers in the USA got into such a mess?
11

ccc,

27/08/2008 16:59:34
Good to see that most people see this desperation for what it is.

"Products such as this from Stewart Milne offer clear evidence that the mortgage market is starting to get moving again"

Never heard such nonsense. The only people that are willing to offer a loan at this rate are the people actually trying to sell the things !!

Sure, that shows just how things are moving along..

Desperation gets better by the day from these jokers.
12

SouthernSkye,

Bonnie Bonn 27/08/2008 18:22:19
Indeed, the desperation cannot be smothered beneath a blanket of false words. There is NO upturn, only this week is was reported on the BBC that mortgage lending was down nigh-on 70% cfe August 2007.

Interference in the housing market has what has lead to this boom n bust. Leave the market alone, stop messing with it and allow it to find the true level plateau it should be at!

There is another story here
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7584097.stm
of similar problems in Spain, but even more so as Spain has produced more new houses than UK, Germany and france added together!

 

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