UK Finance figures show first-time buyer numbers 4.5 per cent down year-on-year, although the £5bn of monthly lending equalled last year’s figure.
The trade body figures show 29,400 new first-time buyer mortgages completed in the month, some 4.5 per cent fewer against a year earlier. The £5bn of new lending in the month was the same year-on-year. The average first-time buyer is 30 and has a gross household income of £42,000.
Remortgage growth sputtering
On remortgaging, both buy to let and residential nudged down in September, although buy-to-let remo with 12,300 deals were still at more than twice the level of buy-to-let purchases at 5,200. However, buy-to-let remo was still down 0.8 per cent to £2bn of lending.
On residential, 35,600 homeowner remortgages completed in the month, some 0.6 per cent fewer than in the same month a year earlier at £6.4bn of remortgaging. That’s down 1.5 per cent year-on-year.
Jackie Bennett, director of mortgages at UK Finance, said: “Overall remortgaging for both residential and buy-to-let properties have levelled out after a period of strong growth. This reflects the number of fixed rate loans reaching maturity.
“Buy-to-let home purchases have eased again in September, suggesting lending in this market remains subdued as a result of recent tax, regulatory and legislative changes.
“Demand for house purchases for both first-time buyers and home movers has also lessened, as affordability constraints continue to bear down on consumer demand for new loans, particularly in London and the South East”.
Vikki Jefferies, proposition director at PRIMIS and PTFS, said: “Following the very welcome news in the Autumn Budget that the Help to Buy scheme and stamp duty breaks for shared ownership are to be extended, the future is looking bright for first-time buyers.”
