16/09/2005

Demand for home loans predicted to slow

The rate of homeowner loans is expected to slow over the next five years, analysts have predicted.

A report by analyst firm Datamonitor predicted that the growth of the home loans market would increase by 5.3% per year between 2005 and 2009. This is a substantial decrease on the previous five years, which saw tremendous growth in the market of around 50% per year.

Datamonitor said that the recent slowdown in the property market would make homeowners less likely to take out loans secured on their property.

Homeowner loans, which are often used to pay for home improvements or pay off other unsecured debts, such as credit cards, usually have higher rates of interest than unsecured loans.

However, borrowers can usually borrow much larger sums of money from specialist companies, with firms offering loans for as much as £75,000 or £100,000.

Last year, homeowners borrowed £32.6 billion secured against the value of their property. Datamonitor predicted that the amount would rise to £35.4 billion by 2009.

(KMcA/SP)

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