Today there was a lot of coverage given to the Internet’s largest UK property site lister, Rightmove.  Rightmove is being expected to benefit from the forecast of a reviving housing market over the next few months and years.  The company could also be benefitting from the current inclement weather that is keeping property shoppers from looking at listings in person.  Rather than traveling from property to property, shoppers are staying indoors and clicking from property to property and narrowing down their potential list of properties to consider for purchase.

The expected increase in buyers to the housing market, especially an increase in first time buyers, is being credited to the Funding for Lending Scheme.  The scheme has allowed lenders to fund loans cheaper than the global lending market would allow.  The continued funding and low interest rates has brought out more demand for mortgage loans.  In the beginning the best offers were restricted to those with large deposits and great credit ratings, in other words the borrowers with the lowest risk, but that is changing.  Lenders are opening up lending to more borrowers and putting their loan to value levels at more attractive and realistic levels for borrowers.

Remortgage demand has yet to reach levels that would be considered assisted by the scheme.  However, should the housing market bounce back to the point that homeowners see their property values rising, then confidence could reach levels that will push many to reconsider the option of a remortgage while rates are so low.