First-time buyer mortgage approvals increase in October
The number of first time buyers securing mortgages jumped in October, according to the latest data.
There were 32,260 new first-time buyer mortgages completed, 2.8 per cent more than in October last year.
Read more: UK mortgage lending dips as buyers hesitate in Brexit uncertainty
The number of homemover mortgages completed in the month grew 4.2 per cent compared to the previous year, reaching 33,370, according to research from UK Finance.
In October there were 18,910 new remortgages with additional borrowing – a drop of 20.8 per cent- with the average additional amount borrowed reaching £51,000.
The number of new remortgages without additional borrowing also dropped 20 per cent. The slump in activity is in-line with the UK Finance refinancing schedule model, it said.
Buy-to-let home purchase mortgages also slumped 1.5 per cent to 6,600 in October compared to the previous year.
Mark Harris, chief executive of mortgage broker SPF Private Clients, said: “After a very strong year, remortgaging numbers dipped in October, suggesting that many of those who needed to refinance have done so, and taken advantage of the cheap rates available.
“First-time buyers continue to prop up the housing market with their numbers continuing to grow. Homemover numbers also edged up as those buyers brave enough to ignore political and economic headwinds got on with the business of moving.”
Jeremy Leaf, north London estate agent and a former RICS residential chairman, added: ‘These numbers show that first-time buyers and indeed home movers, were still very active even at a time of maximum uncertainty for the housing market in the wake of Brexit turmoil.”
Earlier this week research by Rightmove indicated that UK house prices could see a two per cent jump next year following the Conservative Party’s general election victory.
Prices are expected to benefit from greater home-mover confidence, which has been weakened by political uncertainty since the 2016 EU referendum.
The predicted two per cent jump is more than double the current annual rate of 0.8 per cent.
However the latest research suggests the housing market will only return to full health when “Brexit is well in the past”.