Sub-prime mortgage enquiries on the rise

Requests for advice on sub-prime mortgages rose in October, according to the latest Mortgage Advice Drivers from Unbiased.

The advice website revealed that the number of people searching for whole of market advice on sub-prime mortgages increased from 3% in September to 7% in October. This is the highest amount of enquiries recorded since Unbiased’s adviser search launched at the end of August 2008.

The top most searched for criteria continues to be first-time buyer enquiries, with 38% of total enquiries, a drop from 43% in September. The second most searched for criteria was remortgage advice, which has increased slightly from September 2009 to 29%.

Karen Barrett, chief executive of Unbiased, said the increase in those searching for advice from whole of market mortgage advisers on sub-prime mortgages points towards a squeezed market for those borrowers.

She added: “While an increasing number of mainstream mortgage deals are slowly appearing back onto the market, the sub-prime market remains slow, and these borrowers are therefore scoping out options through which they can access new deals.”