First time buyer mortgages hit 12-year high
The number of first time buyer mortgage completions in August soared to the highest level since before the financial crisis.
There were 35,010 mortgage completions for new buyers – an increase of 0.7 per cent on August last year – reaching the highest level since 2007.
Read more: Mortgage approvals grow despite Brexit uncertainty
Andrew Montlake, managing director of mortgage broker Coreco, said: “First time buyers are absolutely flying. They are being driven on by a combination of reduced competition from landlords, once-in-a-lifetime mortgage rates, high employment and the buyer’s markey we’re in.
“First time buyers have been the one constant over the past couple of years and this latest data shows that there is still a huge amount of momentum at this end of the market.”
During the month there were 18,640 new remortgages with additional borrowing, down 2.9 per cent on 2018, with the extra amount borrowed reaching an average of £55,000, according to the latest mortgage trends data by UK Finance.
The number of remortgages without additional lending slumped 2.3 per cent to 18,100.
In August there were also 5,900 new buy-to-let mortgages completed, down 2.2 per cent than the same month a year earlier.
Read more: First time buyer demand boosts July mortgage figures
“Fewer home mover mortgages isn’t surprising at all,” said Tomer Aboody, director of property lender MT Finance.
“These are usually at the higher end of the pricing bracket, where people are more cautious in spending until either we have a resolution in the Brexit saga or the Labour party is nowhere to be seen in the running for government, given its potential disastrous policies in housing.”
Main image credit: Getty