By Enzo Mora, CEO and founder of The Mortgage Brain 

I wasn't expecting any boosts or bombshells for the property market in the Chancellor's spring budget.

Homebuyers are still benefitting from Stamp Duty savings until March 2023, with none to pay on a property worth up to £425,000, if you're a first-time buyer, or up to £250,000 stamp duty free when buying your next home.

The good news is that the Office of Budget Responsibility (OBR) has announced that we're going to avoid a recession this year, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't take a good look at our finances.

If your fixed rate mortgage is coming to an end or you need to borrow more to move, our expert advisers can look at your whole financial picture and suggest some affordable ways to move forward.

Our budgets are still squeezed but the OBR reckons inflation will fall to 2.9 per cent by the end of the year which is welcome news.

Owning a home still cheaper than renting

It's not easy to save buy a property when you're renting but homeowners are nearly £500 better off annually than renters says the latest research from the Halifax. The figures are based on housing costs for first-time buyers with a mortgage on a three-bed home compared to the average monthly rent of the same property type, with owners paying £971 compared to £1,013 for renters. While rents are going up, house prices are stabilising so this could bring more savings in the coming months.

Halifax also says the post pandemic house price surge saw the average price of a detached home rise by 25.9% or £93,345 between the start of 2020 and the end of 2022, meaning these gains are equity for onward purchases. We can show you how to make the most of those.

Cashpoint parents are here to stay!

More telephone numbers on the lending front from the bank of Mum and Dad which has paid out almost £9 billion in 2022 in gifts and loans says property firm Savills. Around 170,000 first-time buyers had family assistance in getting their mortgage in 2022, accounting for around 46% of all mortgaged first-time buyers.

This number is expected to jump to 61% in 2023, a figure not seen since before Help to Buy was introduced. This means that just two in five first-time buyers are likely to access the market without any help.

More schemes to help with low deposits

Help to Buy ends this month and since the scheme was introduced in 2013 it has helped around 335,000 first-time buyers, providing £11 billion in financial assistance, £2.2 billion in 2022 alone. We're able to help our customers with a new scheme called Deposit Unlock aimed at both first-timer buyers and those already on the property ladder, who can raise a 5% deposit and want to buy a brand new home. The remaining 95% of the purchase price can then be borrowed from lenders participating in the scheme.

When one of our expert mortgage advisers has qualified you for Deposit Unlock, the housebuilder will provide you with written confirmation so you can apply to specified lenders for a mortgage. The lender will advise if you meet their criteria for a mortgage loan. If successful, you can then reserve your new-build home. Not all our mortgage searches are simple, but that's why using a mortgage broker will make sure you get the best borrowing options for you.

I wasn't expecting any boosts or bombshells for the property market in the Chancellor's spring budget. Homebuyers are still benefitting from Stamp Duty savings until March 2023, with none to pay on a property worth up to £425,000, if you're a first-time buyer, or up to £250,000 stamp duty free when buying your next home.

The good news is that the Office of Budget Responsibility (OBR) has announced that we're going to avoid a recession this year, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't take a good look at our finances. If your fixed rate mortgage is coming to an end or you need to borrow more to move, our expert advisers can look at your whole financial picture and suggest some affordable ways to move forward. Our budgets are still squeezed but the OBR reckons inflation will fall to 2.9 per cent by the end of the year which is welcome news.

Owning a home still cheaper than renting

It's not easy to save buy a property when you're renting but homeowners are nearly £500 better off annually than renters says the latest research from the Halifax. The figures are based on housing costs for first-time buyers with a mortgage on a three-bed home compared to the average monthly rent of the same property type, with owners paying £971 compared to £1,013 for renters. While rents are going up, house prices are stabilising so this could bring more savings in the coming months. Halifax also says the post pandemic house price surge saw the average price of a detached home rise by 25.9% or £93,345 between the start of 2020 and the end of 2022, meaning these gains are equity for onward purchases. We can show you how to make the most of those.

Cashpoint parents are here to stay!

More telephone numbers on the lending front from the bank of Mum and Dad which has paid out almost £9 billion in 2022 in gifts and loans says property firm Savills. Around 170,000 first-time buyers had family assistance in getting their mortgage in 2022, accounting for around 46% of all mortgaged first-time buyers. This number is expected to jump to 61% in 2023, a figure not seen since before Help to Buy was introduced. This means that just two in five first-time buyers are likely to access the market without any help.

More schemes to help with low deposits

Help to Buy ends this month and since the scheme was introduced in 2013 it has helped around 335,000 first-time buyers, providing £11 billion in financial assistance, £2.2 billion in 2022 alone. We're able to help our customers with a new scheme called Deposit Unlock aimed at both first-timer buyers and those already on the property ladder, who can raise a 5% deposit and want to buy a brand new home. The remaining 95% of the purchase price can then be borrowed from lenders participating in the scheme. When one of our expert mortgage advisers has qualified you for Deposit Unlock, the housebuilder will provide you with written confirmation so you can apply to specified lenders for a mortgage. The lender will advise if you meet their criteria for a mortgage loan. If successful, you can then reserve your new-build home. Not all our mortgage searches are simple, but that's why using a mortgage broker will make sure you get the best borrowing options for you.

To find out more about The Mortgage Brain, visit www.themortgagebrain.net  or call 0333 340 8888.