Fears of a slowdown across the market appear unfounded as the Council of Mortgage Lenders showed the number of loans to first-time buyers rose 9% between April and May to reach 26,800.
By value these loans were 11% higher than April and 30% higher than in May 2013. During the past year the average income multiple has grown from 3.29 to 3.43.
Other areas of the market performed strongly with both the value and number of loans to home movers growing 8% month-on-month.
It was remortgage lending that was hit hardest by the MMR with the number and value of loans 18% down compared to April.
Comparisons with last year show remortgages have declined 26% by volume and 15% in value over the past 12 months.
A separate report by the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors said the MMR implementation and recent pronouncements from the Bank of England on the housing market have helped temper rapidly rising house prices.
While more than half (53%) of surveyors reported an increase in prices in June, this represented a gentle fall from the 56% recorded in May.
The South East and Northern Ireland experienced the strongest price gains for the second consecutive month, but demand for properties has fallen back in London following 15 successive monthly increases.
The proportion of surveyors expecting prices to rise in the next three months also took a tumble, falling from 46% in May to 26% in June.
RICS chief economist Simon Rubinsohn said: “The Bank of England’s recent introduction of a ceiling on high loan to income lending and a 3% interest rate stress test is unlikely on its own to have an immediate influence on the market. However, rhetoric from key officials at the Bank, including Mark Carney, alongside the consequences of the introduction of the MMR are already slowing momentum particularly in London.”
“Buyer enquiries in the capital are now slipping back which suggests that the very sharp upward move in prices will flatten over the coming months. Elsewhere around the country we believe the more hard fought recovery should remain intact.”
Paul Smee, director-general of the CML, said: “With May lending figures, we get our first glimpse at the effect the Mortgage Market Review has had on lending trends and, at least so far, the impact appears subtle, rather than dramatic.
“First-time buyers and home movers continue to be key drivers in market growth and their activity does not seem to have been noticeably disrupted. There was no cliff edge; lenders and intermediaries had been methodically working towards applying MMR changes for months leading up to implementation and the figures appear to reflect this.”
