First-time buyers have reached their highest level of activity since June 2017, according to UK Finance.
In their latest Mortgage Trends Update for August 2018, UK Finance found that:
• There were 35,500 new first-time buyer mortgages completed in the month, some 2% more than in the same month a year earlier. The £6.1bn of new lending in the month was 5.2% more year-on-year. The average first-time buyer is 30 and has a gross household income of £42,000.
• There were 38,000 new homemover mortgages completed in the month, some 2.3% fewer than in the same month a year earlier. The £8.5bn of new lending in the month was the same year-on-year. The average homemover is 39 and has a gross household income of £57,000.
• There were 37,100 new homeowner remortgages completed in the month, some 0.3% fewer than in the same month a year earlier. The £6.5bn of remortgaging in the month was the same year-on-year.
• There were 6,000 new buy-to-let home purchase mortgages completed in the month, some 13% fewer than in the same month a year earlier. By value, this was £0.8bn of lending in the month, 20 per cent down year-on-year.
• There were 13,800 new buy-to-let remortgages completed in the month, some 4.5 per cent more than in the same month a year earlier. By value, this was £2.2bn of lending in the month, 4.8 per cent more year-on-year.
Andrew Montlake, Director at Coreco mortgage brokers commented, “It is great to see the return of First-Time buyers who are considered the life-blood of the housing market.
“Although there are still issues around raising a deposit for many without help from the Bank of Mum and Dad, first-time buyers generally are benefitting from low interest rates and more choice in the mortgage market, as well as schemes such as Help to Buy.
“It could also be argued that these buyers have also been buoyed by recent Government policies at the expense of buy-to-let landlords, many of whom have reduced their activity due to tax changes, which is exactly what these policies were designed to do.
“We expect the current trend of First-time buyer growth to continue into next year, with the remortgage market maintaining its importance.”
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