First-time buyers in Wales took out more loans between July and September this year for house purchases than any other quarter since 2007, a trend also mirrored in Scotland. In Q3, mortgage lenders advanced 3,900 loans to Welsh would-be buyers, up 5% both quarter-on-quarter and year-on-year. The value of first-time buyer lending rose 7% on the second quarter to reach £450m, representing an increase of 13% year-on-year.
Scottish first-time buyers borrowed £940m, up 3% on the second quarter and 6% on the third quarter last year. This equated to 8,600 loans, up 4% quarter-on-quarter and 5% year-on-year.
In England, similar rises in volume and value were recorded. First-time buyers took out 76,900, a 7% quarterly rise and 9% increase year-on-year valued at £12.9bn for the quarter. The value of lending had risen 12% since Q3 2015 and 7.5% on Q2.
In London, the number of loans advanced to first-time buyers climbed 7% quarter-on-quarter from 10,600 to 11,300 but fell by 9% year-on-year. Some £3.1bn of mortgages were advanced to this sector of the market, also a rise of 7% on the second quarter but down 5% compared to the third quarter last year.
The value of lending to first-time buyers in Northern Ireland grew by 17% on the third quarter last year to reach £210m, representing an 11% rise on Q2. This totalled 2,100 loans, up 5% quarter-on-quarter and year-on-year.
First-time buyer affordability
First-time buyers in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland are all currently subject to income multiples below the national average of 3.54. In Northern Ireland the average income multiple was 2.86, Scotland 3.02, Wales 3.29 and London 4.02. The average loan size advanced to Welsh first-time buyers in quarter three was £108,300, in Scotland the average loan size was £100,000, Northern Irish first-time buyers took on mortgages on average valued at £93,000 while London buyers shouldered mortgage debt of £260,000 on their first property purchases. The UK average first-time buyer mortgage for Q3 was £134,900.
