Lenders and borrowers are using riskier low-deposit mortgages more often, according to Bank of England data cited by news outlets. The proportion of new mortgages with deposits below 10% of the property’s value rises this year, reaching the highest level seen since 2008.
The reports describe growing pressure on people trying to enter or move up the housing market, with buyers finding it harder to save enough for larger upfront deposits. In this context, more borrowers take out mortgages that require smaller deposits, increasing exposure for lenders to higher loan-to-value lending.
While the outlets focus on the same indicator and timing, they frame the change around different emphasis: one highlights the overall jump in low-deposit lending relative to historical benchmarks, while another focuses on the difficulty buyers face getting onto the housing ladder. Both point to the same BoE dataset and the same threshold (deposits under 10%).
