Nationwide to restart first-time buyer lending

Nationwide Building Society has announced that it is planning to extend its mortgage product range to include 90% loan-to-value (LTV) to support first-time buyers.

First-time buyers looking to get a Nationwide 90% LTV deal will be able to do so from Monday 20 July 2020. The deals will be available direct from the building society or through a mortgage broker.

Nationwide withdrew from lending to first-time buyers last month when it pulled its 90% and 95% LTV products from the market. The impact of Nationwide's withdrawal from the market was significant, especially as it came at a time when many other lenders were pulling high LTV deals. Indeed, today we revealed that over half of mortgage deals available to those looking for a 90% or 95% LTV have been withdrawn from the market in the last month alone.

Commenting on the extension of Nationwide mortgage deals to include 90% LTV, Henry Jordan, director of mortgages at Nationwide Building Society, said: “First-time buyers are vital to breathing life into the housing market and economy. We understand one of the biggest barriers to homeownership is raising a deposit. As a building society, owned by our members, we are extremely well placed to look at ways of helping people into a home of their own. While we will continue to monitor the market carefully, we feel it is the right time to enhance our lending, initially to those looking for their first home. We welcome the government’s announcement on stamp duty and hope our combined changes create a positive impact on a market that, despite being in relatively good health, is still recovering.”