A third of homemovers and buyers want there to be more availability of long-term fixed rate mortgages, a survey from an analyst found.
The Bloomberg Intelligence survey of 1,000 people found that although respondents desired this, just 8% were willing to take out a 10-year fix now.
The firm suggested this could be because of the high level of rates rather than an unwillingness to lock in a rate for a long period.
Bloomberg Intelligence said what respondents wanted was at odds with the government’s plans around homeownership, as just 26% said they wanted to see more support for first-time buyers.
Just a quarter said they wanted the government to build more homes.
These sentiments go against Labour’s proposed plans for the housing market, which includes the building of one-and-a-half million homes and the Freedom to Buy initiative, which will see the mortgage guarantee scheme made permanent.
There was more support for a stamp duty cut and grants for energy-efficiency improvements, as shown by the 45% and 28% of respondents respectively who wanted to see the government bring these in.
Iwona Hovenko, senior real estate analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, said: “Almost half of respondents in our survey seek a cut in stamp duty from the government, but we don’t see this as likely in the near term. The desire was strongest among movers and buyers in Southern England, due to disproportionately high taxes on pricier homes.”
Homebuyers adjusting to higher rates
Bloomberg Intelligence’s survey suggested that buyers were getting used to higher mortgage rates and going ahead with purchases.
Some 37% of respondents said their buying plans were unchanged, compared to 29% in February.
The firm said this would support housing activity and housebuilder sales.
However, the poll did reveal that buyers were worried about house prices rising, as this was the most cited concern by people who had brought purchase plans forward.
There was a decline in the share of buyers waiting for rates to fall before going ahead with purchases, dropping from 35% of respondents in February who cited this as a reason to delay to 28% in June.
The high cost of living was the main reason people were putting off buying a home, as identified by 30% of respondents. This compared to 27% who named this as a reason in February.
When asked what the biggest hurdles to buying a home were, 57% of respondents said high house prices, 45% named increased mortgage rates, and a third said stamp duty costs.
Some 23% said a lack of homes to buy was a barrier to purchasing, while 22% cited the “stressful” process.
Hovenko added: “Buyers getting used to high rates and proceeding with purchases as planned may support housing activity and sales of homebuilders, who’re dependent on wider housing market sentiment, given new builds account for only about 15% of annual transactions.
“That’s as a growing proportion of our survey respondents said in June that their buying plans were unchanged, more than offsetting the decrease in the share of those who brought their plans forward. Notably, though, the fear of further price rises was by far the most often cited reason for respondents who brought their plans forward.”
Shekina is the deputy editor at Mortgage Solutions and commercial editor at Mortgage Solutions and Specialist Lending Solutions. She has nearly eight years of experience in the B2B publishing market, having previously covered the hospitality, retail, pet, accounting and jewellery sectors.
Shekina has worked for Mortgage Solutions and Specialist Lending Solutions for almost five years. Here, she covers the market’s breaking news stories, engages with professionals in the sector, and oversees any commercially agreed content in partnership with mortgage-related companies.
This includes presenting webinars and hosting roundtable discussions on developing themes in the mortgage sector.
She is an NCTJ-trained journalist and was nominated for the Headline Money Awards Mortgage Journalist of the Year in 2021.
In her spare time, Shekina likes to read, travel, listen to music and socialise with friends.
She currently reports on current events in the mortgage market and liaises with financial clients to produce sponsored content.
Follow her on Twitter at @ShekinaMS
