The 103,000 approvals accounted for 27% of the total market – exceeding societies’ natural market share of 21%. This is a growth of 7% compared to the same period last year.
Societies advanced £15bn in gross new mortgage lending during this period, while net lending amounted to £3.8bn, which accounts for a 32% share of the market.
Robin Fieth (pictured), chief executive of the BSA, said despite growing competition, the building societies’ sector is ‘still performing well’, selling products to first-time buyers, second steppers, self-builders and older borrowers.
Building societies, together with their subsidiaries, hold residential mortgages of nearly £260bn, 20% of the total outstanding in the UK.
A report by Cass Business School from September this year, comparing the performance of building societies to banks over a 15-year period, showed building societies were outperforming banks across a number of financial indicators, including offering lower mortgage rates to their customers.
Earlier this month, the BSA promised to lead a review into age caps on mortgage lending within the mutual sector.
