Skipton’s 100% mortgage for renters offers hope – but not without risk

Much depends on the housing market and there’s no agreement on how that’s faring right now

With hindsight, one of Britain’s biggest building societies could definitely have picked a better day to launch a first-of-its-kind 100% mortgage.

On Tuesday morning, just as the press release was being sent out and Skipton building society boss Stuart Haire was preparing for his BBC Radio 4 Today programme interview, the Halifax reported that average UK house prices fell in April, by 0.3% month on month, and that “we should expect some further downward pressure on house prices over the course of this year”. To add to the gloom, the struggling online estate agent Purplebricks reported a further worsening in trading, there was a profit warning from another firm reliant on the housing sector, and many housebuilders saw their share prices fall.