New mortgage sales were worth £196bn in 2016, an increase from lows of £121bn in 2010, but well below the £292bn lent in 2007, the regulator’s data showed.
The number of new loans tumbled from 2.1m in 2007 to just 865,000 in 2010, before picking up to 1m in 2016.
Perhaps contrary to perception, first-time buyers have been the strongest part of the market over the past decade.
In 2016, the number of new loans to buyers taking the first rung on the ladder had jumped 69% from 2008 to just 7% below the highs seen in 2007.
However, the amount of first-time buyers aged 25 and under has fallen dramatically from a third of buyers in 2007 to just over a fifth in 2016.
Changes in average mortgage
Over the past 10 years, there has also been a marked increase in loan terms and a fall in high loan to value (LTV) lending.
The amount of home loans with a term longer than 25 years almost doubled from 17% in 2007 to 36% in 2016, the study showed.
Amid higher house prices and stagnant wages, loan to income ratios have also increased, with the amount of loans at a multiple higher than 3.5 jumping from 28% to 37% of loans over the decade.
At the same time, the number of mortgages with an LTV over 90% has fallen from 290,000 in 2007 – 14% of the total – to 101,000 loans in 2016 or 9% of the total.
In 10 years, fixed-rate deals have increased in popularity, accounting for almost nine out of 10 new loans compared to just over seven in 2007.
Amid changes in regulation, interest-only lending has tumbled over the period from a third of new loans in 2007 to just 4% in 2016.
Lending without borrower income verification has also plunged from half of mortgages to only 2%.
