Lenders offered some of the cheapest mortgage deals on record over the last 12 months, providing respite to house insurance customers across the UK looking to reduce their debts. A highstreet bank revealed that monthly mortgage payments were the most affordable they had been for ten years.
Research released this month (January 9th) by the bank explained that property investors paid out 15.4% of their take-home pay from the last year in order to cover their monthly mortgage payments, falling from a record high of 20.5% back at the crisis point of the recession in 2008.
Opinion research also had better news for potential homeowners as it was revealed that the majority of mortgage holders were more comfortable with current payment levels than they were at the end of 2010.
Additionally, 83% said they had "room for manoeuvre" if interest rates or other financial circumstances changed. They asserted that many have simple yet effective plans in place, such as reducing lifestyle budgets to cover market fluctuations or Bank of England policy adjustments.
Their head of mortgages said of the statistics: "We are urging homeowners not to be complacent with this affordability and to act early on in 2012 to secure good mortgage deals, as they may be able to cut their monthly mortgage payments further."