Residential and buy-to-let mortgage sales have fallen by 8.4 per cent last month from October, a value decrease of £1.3bn, according to Equifax Touchstone.
The information provider’s analysis of the intermediary marketplace showed that mortgage sales continued to disappoint for the second consecutive month.
Residential mortgage sales took the biggest tumble, dropping by 10.2 per cent, while buy-to-let sales, at £3.5bn, fell 2.6 per cent. Sales in every regional area in the UK were down, with the North West the hardest hit, by a 13.7 per cent decrease in sales, while London reported the smallest drop of 5.5 per cent.
However, compared with November 2014, residential sales were up 26.9 per cent, a value of £2.2bn, while buy-to-let sales have risen by 42.8 per cent, an increase of £1bn.
Regional area | Sales growth (% - October to November 2015) |
London | -5.5% |
Scotland | -6.1% |
North and Yorkshire | -6.8% |
Midlands | -7.5% |
Home Counties | -8.1% |
Wales | -8.2% |
South East | -9.3% |
South West | -9.9% |
South Coast | -10.1% |
North East | -12.8% |
Northern Ireland | -13.1% |
North West | -13.7% |
Equifax Touchstone’s data, which covers 92 per cent of the intermediated lending market, also showed that the average value of a residential mortgage in November was £186,166 - up from £173,070 in November 2014 - and £162,065 for buy-to-let - up from £146,810 this time last year.
Iain Hill, relationship manager at the firm, said that despite the softening market demand, 2015 has been a very good year, with the market significantly ahead of 2014. “Looking forward, there has been much speculation about where the market will go in 2016, and the current volatility does not make planning any easier.”
peter.walker@ft.com
