Press
Self-cert accounts for 2% of market - Evaluate
by Joy Dunbar
FinancialAdviser 3rd September 2009
Self-certification mortgages now account for less than 2 per cent of the mortgage market, according to Evaluate Technologies.
Supply of the product, which is a vital source of funding for self-employed people or those with an irregular income, has dried up, Evaluate added.
Self-cert mortgages accounted for almost 17 per cent of the mortgage market and borrowers could choose between 247 fixed-rate products and 134 variable deals in December 2007, according to Evaluate Technologies.
It added a year ago self-certification mortgages accounted for 6 per cent of all fixed-rate deals and 14 per cent of variable deals and borrowers were able to choose between 55 fixed rate and 105 variable products.
Julie Speed, national accounts director of Evaluate Technologies, said: "Honest, hard working self-employed people have few options to choose from and brokers face a stiff challenge finding suitable products for the self-employed."
James Carter, proprietor of London-based IFA Independent James, said: "There were too many of these products at the peak of the market. They are not as mainstream as they were during the peak of the market.
"Lenders have come under scrutiny and are looking at affordability. Self-cert is on the FSA's radar. The issues around self-cert were worse in the US. Self-employed people are being scrutinised even more when they apply for a mortgage. I think with low loan-to-value they still have a place."
Meanwhile, the continually changing mortgage market has led to an increased need for whole of market mortgage advice for borrowers, according to research by IFA promotion website Unbiased.co.uk.