The number of homeowners taking out secured loans is set to slow down over the next five years according to analysts at Datamonitor. Over the past five years, the market for secured loans has increased by over 50%, however predictions indicate that loans secured against property will only increase at a rate of 5.3% a year up to 2009. Last year, 016bn was borrowed by homeowners secured against the value of their property but according to Datamonitor this will rise to 014bn a year by 2009. Datamonitor stated that the slowing demand for loans reflected a public perception of an ongoing “soft landing” for the UK housing market. Maya Imberg of Datamonitor said The rapid growth rates the secured lending market has enjoyed over the last five years are set to cool01″.
The slowing in house price inflation that has been experienced over the past few months is seen by analysts to have discouraged homeowners from taking out loans secured against the increased value of their homes. Secured loans are normally seen as a sensible way to borrow for certain expensive items, such as home improvements, due to the higher borrowing limits and cheaper interest rates that are...