One of the main repercussions of the global financial crisis has been that lenders have tightened their criteria for mortgages and remortgages. It has become more difficult to secure a home loan, although there have been some recent signs that lenders are rediscovering their appetite for mortgage lending and are offering some good remortgage rates.

One of the main causes of the 'credit crunch' was problems with sub-prime mortgage lending in America. As these problems grew, lenders became increasingly reluctant to agree any home loans and it is only in recent months that banks and building societies have finally begun to loosen their criteria and offer better remortgage deals.

The progress has not been even, however. In March, UK mortgage approvals were fewer than originally forecast, so there may be unexpected complications yet. Many city insiders were hoping for a robust recovery through March, but one failed to emerge. Predicted increases of 48,000 stopped 500 short of target. That suggests that even though the situation is improving steadily, market confidence is limited and the recovery ahead may still be difficult.

Estate agents are often quick to point out that there are often seasonal variations in the number of mortgage and remortgage approvals in the UK. For example, the housing market tends to slow down towards the end of the year, starting from September/October onwards.

As the housing market quietens, fewer buyers will register with estate agents and this results in a red
uction in the number of properties sold. These seasonal variations had a big impact during the global financial crisis as the market was already struggling, although as Britain comes out of recession the housing market is more able to cope with seasonal variations.

First time buyers who are getting a foot on the property ladder are always essential to the market. This being so, it is alarming to note that there has been a drop in the proportion of first time buyers recently. This is most probably due to increases in house prices and a fall in lending, which economists have claimed is caused by a lack of availability in the market.

These statistics can see huge changes year on a year and are historically volatile. An example of this was seen in September 2008, when first time buyers made up only 10% of the market, whereas a year later they represented 25% of the market.

As the market in the UK can vary so suddenly, economists have found it hard to predict long term trends. Some organisations, such as the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) have called for the government to intervene in order to help the recovery of the housing market.

Some good news however is that it appears that consumer finance, such as credit cards and loans, are also increasing. This is positive as it backs up the statistics in the property and mortgage sectors showing that we're on our way to a brighter future.

There has been speculation that prices may fall again in the coming months, however there is not much evidence to back this up, so it looks as though our markets are generally pretty safe for the coming months.