With the base rate sitting idle for some time and expectations of an even longer delay before an increase, remortgage activity is in a certain rut.  Activity within the market will take some time to recover.  While remortgaging sits idle some builders, including Taylor Wimpey, are seeing an ease in the market and the opportunity to benefit from more competitive lending through new house builds.

The chief of Taylor Wimpey, Pete Redfern, commented on what he is seeing in the market and how gradual changes are taking place.  He said: "The word 'incremental' is important. Valuations are little bit easier and we're seeing a little more competition from specialist lenders. For most of the banking sector, balance sheets are slowly improving. There's no big sea change but the mortgage market is slightly freer than it was six months ago."

The UK builder, who has sold its North American division to focus on the UK debt, will finish more than 4,500 homes during the first six months of this year. Last year’s total for the first half of the year was just slightly more than 4,800.  The average selling price has inched up a mere 2,000 pounds to 170,000 from last year.

Steve McGuckin, UK managing director at the project and construction consultant Turner & Townsend, discussed how the Capital City continues to see the primary venue for growth, saying: "Although developers are increasingly committing to new schemes, with the exception of the capital there are still real concerns about the direction of the market. With the odd exception, the residential property market outside London is continuing to decline, which will naturally disincentivise developers to develop and banks to lend. There continues to be an appetite among the banks for new prime developments in the capital, but outside the opposite is the case."