The Association of Mortgage Intermediaries believes that the government must act now, if mortgage competition is to increase and help re-stabilise the property market.

In light of the Pre-Budget Report, the AMI are asking the government to:

- Draw more building societies and non-banking institutions back into offering competitive mortgage deals – at the moment 6 groups are responsible for 90% of the mortgages written. However, by creating more competition amongst the lending market this will stop lenders from keeping new product costs high and will ensure homeowners have access to more affordable mortgages

- Ease the capital and regulatory requirements for building societies and non-banking institutions – thus encouraging them back onto the market place

- Ensure that the Mortgage Market Review does not eliminate consumers responsibilities for their own financial choices

- To review and possibly extend the existing Stamp Duty Holiday until the housing market has properly recovered – currently the structure is disproportionate to the thresholds offered; with homeowners paying a significant amount more on properties above each threshold than those below

- Introduce more incentives to shared ownership schemes to help entice first time buyers back onto the property ladder – these include offering tax incentives for housing associations and builders to give them greater freedoms to introduce more schemes to homeowners

- Effectively pass all responsibility to the Financial Services Authority to ensure the thorough regulation of second and subsequent charge residential lending

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