However, across the market the gap between the loans requested and values offered by lenders grew to a new high of around 13 per cent – a figure which has steadily grown since May and is now double that of March.
This difference was the highest it has been all year at £22,450, up from £20,538 in September.
In the market as a whole, for a third consecutive month 16 per cent of all loan requests submitted by brokers were not met by any lenders on grounds of affordability.
Technology provider MBT said only 11 per cent of first-time buyer loan requests submitted by brokers were not met by a lender – a new low and down from the peak of 24 per cent in April.
The difference in loan value offered to first-time buyers also dipped slightly in October to around eight per cent – on par with other months since the pandemic hit, though still above the low of five per cent in February.
Loan offered difference rises
MBT CEO Tanya Toumadj (pictured) said: “The Affordability Gap shows brokers how likely it is they will be able to source a lender that can provide the loan amount requested by their client.
“So, it’s good news for first-time buyers that this hit a record low in October, and that it remains low for other customer segments.
“However, where brokers are unable to secure the loan requested by their client, the difference between the loan requested and loan offered is as high as it has been since we started analysing the data.
“This can give brokers a false impression if they only try one or two lenders and find that the loan amounts offered fall well short of their expectations, when really there are many lenders that could be able to meet the loan size requested,” she added.
