Data from the Council of Mortgage Lenders has revealed growth in lending trends to first-time buyers, home movers and buy-to-let during October, but a decline in remortgaging.
First-time buyers saw a month-on-month lending increase, with 29,900 first-time buyer loans in October; 12 per cent more than in September and 14 per cent up on October 2013.
By value, there was £4.4bn advanced to first-time buyers in October, 10 per cent up on September and 22 per cent higher than October last year.
Lending to home movers also strengthened month-on-month. In October, the number of loans advanced to movers was 35,000, a 10 per cent rise on the previous month and up 4 per cent on October last year.
Remortgage lending activity fell month-on-month in October, with the number of remortgage loans totalling 26,600. This was 6 per cent down on September and 11 per cent down on October last year.
There were 19,600 buy-to-let loans in October, representing lending of £2.7bn. This continued the growth seen last month, with loan volumes and the value of these loans up 8 per cent on September.
Compared to October 2013, the number of loans increased 22 per cent and the value of these loans went up 29 per cent.
Paul Smee, director general of the CML, commented that it has been a year of change for the industry, but the market has shown remarkable stability with house purchase and buy-to-let lending showing steady growth.
“There have been fluctuations month to month but overall the market appears to be showing a positive direction of travel going into the new year.
“Stamp duty reform was long overdue and it is welcome that the tax has been changed. It will now be interesting to see how the market reacts; the new structure should be less of a barrier to mobility for those looking to get on the housing ladder or movers looking to switch homes.”
peter.walker@ft.com
