CML figures suggest 60% of the house purchase loans taken out in Northern Ireland (NI) in Q1 2012 were to first-time buyers, up 58% on Q4 and the highest proportion since 2001.
Plummeting property prices have boosted first-timer affordability, with average loans down 40% from the market peak in Q3 2007 to £73,350. The end of the Stamp Duty holiday on 31 March had little impact in NI, however, with 75% of first-time buyers purchasing property worth less than £125,000.
Overall in the quarter, borrowers secured 2,000 house purchase loans worth £190m in Northern Ireland, down from 2,400 in the last quarter of 2011, but up from 1,700 year-on-year.
Remortgage lending fell in the first quarter in Northern Ireland against Q4 last year with £40m advances.
Derek Wilson, chair of the CML in Northern Ireland, said: “Reduced property prices and lower deposit requirements mean that first-time buyers in Northern Ireland are finding it easier to get a foot on the ladder.”
However, despite the rising figures, the low property volumes seen in Northern Ireland make percentage changes more pronounced.
However, in the Republic of Ireland, borrowers continue to struggle, with one in 10 residential mortgages in the Republic of Ireland now in arrears of more than 90 days, according to the latest Central Bank figures.
Meanwhile, in Scotland, CML figures suggest the end of the Stamp Duty holiday encouraged first-time buyers to push affordability to buy more expensive properties.
Data showed 38% of first-time buyers in Scotland bought properties worth between £125,000 and £250,000, the highest number on record since 2005, against 50% in the UK as a whole.
Properties worth under £125,000 were still the most popular option in Scotland.
First-time buyers in Scotland borrowed 4,000 loans, worth £380m in Q1, a 9% fall in the number of loans and a 5% fall in the value against the previous quarter. This is still a rise of 21% by number and 31% by value against Q1 2011.
First-time buyers accounted for 42% of the house purchase loans in Scotland, the highest since 2001 and the same proportion in the UK as a whole. Home movers took out £720m of loans in Q1, up 8% on the previous year. Borrowing for house purchase fell in Q1 in Scotland with 9,500 loans taken out, worth £1.1bn.
Remortgage lending also dropped in the first quarter in Scotland and UK-wide. There were 7,800 loans, worth £750m, down from 9,000, worth £880m the previous quarter.
Iain Malloch, chair of CML Scotland, said:”If Scotland follows the trend expected across the UK, there is likely to be a further drop in activity over the coming months. The CML in Scotland looks forward to working with the Scottish government and other stakeholders throughout the rest of 2012 to ensure the housing market is open for business across all tenures.”
In Wales, 58% of first-time buyers bought properties valued at under £125,000 in Q1.This is a slight fall, showing no evidence FTBs reacted to the end of the Stamp Duty holiday.
On average, Welsh first-time buyers continued to borrow more of their property’s value than in the UK overall. The average first-time buyer borrowed 85% in the first quarter – up from 83% in the final quarter of 2011 – and 5% more than the UK average of 80%.
Data showed 1,900 loans, worth £180m, were taken out by first-time buyers in Q1, down by 14% from Q4 2011.
In Wales, home movers took out 3,000 loans, totalling £340m, a fall from £440m in Q4, but up from £300m year-on-year. Lending also fell for house purchase overall in Q1, down 17% with 4,900 loans were taken out.
Remortgaging figures also dropped in Wales to £370m in Q1, down from a £410m average in the last three months of 2011.
In Q1, Wales accounted for 4% of the total UK house purchase market by number and 5% of all UK remortgaging.
Peter Hughes, chair of CML Cymru, said: “The recent publication of the Welsh government’s Housing White Paper represents a much needed opportunity for increasing affordable housing supply and quality in Wales. CML Cymru looks forward to further constructive dialogue with the Welsh government on how both commercial lenders to housing associations and retail mortgage lenders to individuals, including first-time buyers and buy-to-let landlords, can help to deliver new housing supply and access to home ownership and quality rented accommodation in Wales.”
