Agency welcomes 20-fold increase in mortgages running 40 years or more

The number of UK residential mortgages approved with a term of 40-years or more jumped over 20-fold in 2018.

London estate agency ludlowthompson, which has analysed the mortgage figures, says some 3,483 were agreed last year, up from just 162 in 2017.

The agency says that as life expectancy increases and individuals retire late, both the supply and demand for 40-year mortgages has surged.

Traditionally the standard mortgage has been 25-years with the repayments ending by the time the borrower reached 70 or 75.

It claims improvements in life expectancy, helped by improved healthcare technology and healthier lifestyles, mean that one in three of today’s newborns are expected to live past 100, with many of the working much longer than today.

ludlowthompson also found that the number of mortgages approved with a term of 25 years or more also jumped 10 per cent to 499,558 in 2018, up from 455,647 the year before.

Agency chairman Stephen Ludlow describes the trend to longer mortgages as “a much-needed addition of innovation to the mortgage market.”

He adds: “It allows younger buyers to reduce their monthly mortgage payments and give flexibility to older people who want to move but were previously locked out of much of the mortgage market. Many individuals who are getting on the ladder at 30 now expect to be working still well into their 70s so stretching their mortgage out makes perfect sense.”