With mortgages in the United Kingdom the top subject on everyone’s mind, it is easy to see why the interest from consumers has been so drastically reduced. There are less and less individuals interested in investing in a mortgage in the United Kingdom due to the fact that they simply are not capable of holding their value and so many current homes are considered to be bad assets.

Citizens Advice Chief Executive, David Harker said: “We would urge anyone who is falling behind with payments on a mortgage or secured loan to speak to their lender and seek free, confidential, independent advice straight away.

“Getting advice, even at a late stage, can help the majority of people come to a workable agreement with their mortgage lender and can make all the difference between saving or losing their home.”

Adam Sampson, Chief Executive of Shelter said: “Getting advice quickly is crucial in helping struggling homeowners keep a roof over their head. At Shelter we often see people when it’s too late, but the loss of their home could have been prevented if they had sought our help early on.

Melanie Bien, director of Savills Private Finance, a mortgage broker said: “It is harder than ever for first-time buyers to get on the housing ladder. Although property prices are falling, the combination of reduced maximum LTVs and income multiples is producing another hurdle which may be insurmountable without financial assistance from parents.”

John Dickie, director of strategy and policy at London First, said: ‘The capital is the engine of the UK economy. Action is needed now to keep the engine running.’ He said ministers should press on with infrastructure schemes including Tube renewal, the East London Line extension and Crossrail.

“The bulk of those arrears are arising on 8 percent of our book. It is a small percentage of our total book that is incurring the arrears — it is contained and it is manageable,” Neville Richardson, Britannia’s chief executive stated.

“We never loaned above 100 percent loan-to-value and very little above 95 percent, and a time when competitors were lending 100 percent,” Richardson added. “The bulk of our book is performing very strongly even in the current circumstances. We have changed our criteria in some of the riskier areas, limiting loan-to-value, types of lending and quantity of lending.”

CBI’s director general, Richard Lambert, stated: “The latest data show the slowdown in UK economic activity gathering pace and business and consumer confidence falling further. With inflation heading higher in the next couple of months, the Bank is right to leave rates on hold for the time being.”

David Kern, economic adviser of the British Chambers of Commerce, said, “the economy urgently needs an interest rate cut to counter threats of recession. The MPC cannot ignore the dangerous effects of rising insolvencies, falling house prices and worsening pressures on the banking system.”

“As swap rates increased lenders were quick to pass on their increased borrowing costs to customers. However, as swap rates have declined these same lenders have not been in quite the same hurry to bring their rates back down,” said Michelle Slade of Moneyfacts.

“Some lenders have now started offering deals with rates just below this level, so it’s worth shopping around. The number of product on offer has also started to slowly creep back up as lenders that previously cut their product ranges right back start to extend them again. At the end of June there were just 3,403 products on offer; today that has increased to 3,887.”

Drew Wotherspoon of Charcol.co.uk stated, “The good news does not stop at just fixed rates either. Nationwide has also reduced the price on its tracker mortgages with the most significant movement on its lifetime tracker, coming down an impressive 0.36% to bank rate +0.98% for those with a 25% deposit - albeit with the introduction of a modest £599 arrangement fee. With expectations that bank rate is going to fall soon, this does look good value for those who do not need the absolute security of a fixed rate. Yet, with the ability to drop into a fixed rate at any time, this does offer the added security that some people will crave.”

CML director general Michael Coogan commented: “The growing popularity of fixed-rate mortgages, despite the relatively high rates, suggests that many borrowers are prioritising certainty in their monthly payments.”

Andrew Montlake, a director at mortgage brokers Cobalt Capital, said: “By taking out this [mortgage] insurance you are effectively adding another half a percent to your mortgage rate to insure against a 1.25% rise. You will almost always be better off remortgaging, but if you are stuck on an standard variable rate then it is a straight call as to whether you want the security and are prepared to pay for it.”

Francis Ghiloni, of www.mform.co.uk, said: “Lenders are becoming more cautious about interest-only mortgages because of worries about house prices and our experience is that increasingly borrowers are becoming more cautious too.”

Darren Cook, mortgage expert at eMoneyfacts.co.uk, comments: “With continuing uncertainty in the mortgage market and the total number of products continuing to decline, many more people will be considering approaching an intermediary to find them the best mortgage deal for their circumstances. However, many intermediaries are finding that their choice of products to recommend to clients has been increasingly restricted as more lenders move to offer their most competitive products just for direct only business.

“Just 49% of deals on the market today are exclusive to intermediaries, whilst 23% are available through both intermediaries and direct business. Although intermediaries have 72% of the market to advise on, it’s the deals that are available direct from lenders which are the most competitive.”

“The housing market shows no signs of stabilising and the problems will spread to other areas, including non-residential construction and consumer spending,” Mr John Paulson, a hedge fund manager said. “For the last four months prices have been depreciating and the decline is accelerating. Ninety per cent of the mortgage market is supported by two private companies losing vast sums of money operating with no equity.”

Matthew Carter, a director at Nationwide, said: “We have seen continued large rises in money market rates together with further competitor activity and, as a result, it has been necessary to increase the rates on our range of mortgages. While markets remain volatile, we can expect to see frequent changes to fixed-rate mortgages across the industry.”