According to the trade body’s data there were 25,450 homemover mortgages completed in April, up 6.4 per cent from the same period last year.
There was also a sharp annual rise in the number of first-time buyer deals completed in the move, from 25,370 in April 2018 to 27,370, an increase of 7.9 per cent.
The value of this lending jumped in line with the increase in loan numbers. The value of new homemover mortgages rose from £5.11bn to £5.63bn, while first-time buyer loans jumped to £4.62bn from £4.16bn.
In contrast, the number of pound-for-pound remortgages dropped notably over the period. In April there were 19,140 such remortgage deals completed, 6.2 per cent fewer than the 20,400 a year ago.
There was a slick uptick in the number of new remortgages with additional borrowing, from 18,860 to 18,890.
Overall the total number of residential remortgages dropped by 3.1 per cent over the year, while the value of that lending shifted from £7.18bn last year to £6.77bn this year.
On buy to let, there were 5,100 new purchase deals completed in the month, with 14,400 remortgages as well. This is unchanged in number and value from the same period last year.
Opportunity for advisers
David Copland, director of mortgage services at TMA, suggested that remortgages presented a huge opportunity for brokers, noting recent data from Barclays suggested there was £90bn of residential remortgages coming to the end of their terms in the coming months.
He said: “Advisers should be tapping into this area of the market sooner rather than later, engaging with those clients and reviewing their circumstances to ensure they’re on the most cost-effective product for them.”
Vikki Jefferies, proposition director at Primis, described the outlook for first-time buyers as “broadly positive”.
She continued: “Market innovations like Help to Buy have gone a long way towards helping this pool of buyers get their foot in the door – quite literally. Advisers also play a key role in helping more want-to-be homeowners to take that first step onto the ladder.”
Andrew Montlake, director of Coreco, said it was interesting that the impact of tax changes for buy-to-let borrowers “appears to have settled down”.
He added: “The buy-to-let market is not what it was but has now reached a new equilibrium.”
