Ipswich Building Society has momentarily pulled its two- and five-year fixed mortgages at 90 per cent loan to value (LTV) as it encountered “unprecedented number of applications” being one of the a handful of high LTV providers in the industry.
Nonetheless, the mutual will keep offering its discounted standard variable rate 90 per cent LTV mortgage in an attempt to continue helping first-time buyers and low deposit borrowers.
Ipswich BS said any intermediaries with outstanding decisions in principle should submit applications before products are withdrawn at 5pm on 19 June.
Lenders such as Accord, Virgin Money and Furness Building Society have also put a pause on high LTV mortgages citing a rise in demand due to the lack of alternative options.
Although some lenders returned to low deposit mortgage lending last month, many are still not offering deals beyond 85 per cent LTV putting the providers who are still lending at this tier under pressure.
Earlier this week, Chris Sykes, consultant at Private Finance revealed HSBC was reaching its daily limit on 90 per cent LTV mortgages as early as 8.30 am.
Re-enter as quick as possible
Ipswich BS said it will review its position on 90 per cent LTV fixed rate mortgages and will actively seek to re-enter the market as quickly as possible.
Richard Norrington (pictured), CEO at Ipswich Building Society, said: “We have been receiving three times what was already a high volume of telephone enquiries, and with many of our staff still operating remotely, our capacity to handle these calls and process applications is somewhat reduced.
“We hope that both intermediaries and direct applicants will understand the necessity to briefly stem this flow in order to maintain good service levels.
“As a society, we understand how vital first– time buyers are in keeping the entire housing market moving, which is why we’ve taken the decision to leave the 90 per cent discounted product in our range,” he added.
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