The latest mortgage lending trends data from UK Finance has been released, highlighting that fewer buy-to-let home purchase mortgages were completed in August 2019 than in the same month in 2018. 5,900 were completed, down by 3.3% on the previous year.
The highlights for august mortgage trends also include:
- There were 13,800 remortgages in the buy-to-let sector, 0.7% fewer than in the same month in 2018.
- There were 18,640 new remortgages with additional borrowing in August 2019, 2.9% fewer than in the same month in 2018.
- For these remortgages, the average additional amount borrowed in August was £55,000.
- There were 18,100 new pound-for-pound remortgages (with no additional borrowing) in August 2019, 2.3% fewer than in the same month a year earlier.
- There were 35,010 new first-time buyer mortgages completed in August 2019, 0.7% more than in the same month in 2018.
- This is the highest monthly total since August 2007 when there were 35,070 new first-time buyer mortgages.
- There were 35,380 homemover mortgages completed in August 2019, 5.5% fewer than in the same month a year earlier.
Shaun Church, Director at Private Finance comments: “The number of first-time buyers has reached a 12 year high in the UK. While home-movers have been paralysed by Brexit uncertainty, first-time buyers have capitalised on favourable market conditions, taking advantage of easing house price growth, record-low mortgage rates and new product innovations to make their first step onto the property ladder.
“Government and industry must not, however, think that their job is done when it comes to first-time buyers. The average age of a first-time buyer in the UK remains high at 32, and many of today’s new homeowners are taking out mortgages with terms lasting as long as 40 years in order to afford repayments.
“This new generation of homeowners may therefore not achieve mortgage free status until their early 70s. Continued efforts need to be made to ensure that homeownership remains attainable early in adulthood, to avoid jeopardising this generation’s financial security later in life.”