Gross mortgage lending is up from Q4 2021 where it was pegged at around £16bn, according to the latest figures from the Building Societies Association (BSA).
The report said this showed the mortgage market remains buoyant as figures are still on par with when the stamp duty relief was in place.
Building societies approved 111,697 mortgages loans in Q1 2022, which is six per cent lower than the same period last year, but up 16 per cent compared to Q4 2021.
It added that outstanding mortgage balances for the quarter were £358bn, an increase of four per cent compared to the same period last year. It is also just under a quarter, 23 per cent, of the total mortgage market share.
The report continued that building societies lent to 25,208 first-time buyers, which is in line with the 25,735 figure from the Q1 last year.
Robin Fieth (pictured), chief executive at BSA, said: “The housing market was vibrant between January and March this year, despite rising house prices and the re-imposition of stamp duty. The fact that building societies lent as much during this period as they did during Q1 2021 with no stamp duty payable is testament to their presence and competitiveness in a busy market.”
He added that the limited number of properties for sale, along with rising cost of living, would lead to a “more subdued housing market as the year progresses”.
Fieth said that as over 80 per cent existing mortgages were on fixed rates this would not impact the remortgage market, which the trade body expects to “remain active”.
