The latest data and analysis from UK Finance has revealed that, during August, there were 35,500 new first-time buyer mortgages completed in the month, a 2% rise against the same month a year earlier.

The data shows that the £6.1bn of new lending during August was 5.2% more year-on-year and that the average first-time buyer is 30 and has a gross household income of £42,000.

According to the data 38,000 new homemover mortgages were completed in the month, some 2.3% fewer than in the same month a year earlier. There was no change in the amount of new lending (£8.5bn) as the same month last year. UK Finance data shows that the average homemover is 39 and has a gross household income of £57,000.

New homeowner remortgages completed in August this year stood at 37,100 - a 0.3% dip year-on-year with no change in the £6.5bn of remortgaging as the year previous.

BTL home purchases were down 13% to 6,000 comapred to August 2017. By value this was £0.8bn of lending in the month, 20% down year-on-year.

There were 13,800 new buy-to-let remortgages completed in the month, some 4.5% cent more than in the same month a year earlier. By value this was £2.2bn of lending in the month, 4.8% more year-on-year.

Jackie Bennett, Director of Mortgages at UK Finance, said: “Overall house purchase completions remain stable, driven largely by the number of first-time buyers which reached its highest monthly level since June 2017.

Buy to Let remortgaging saw relatively strong growth in August, due in part to the number of two year fixed deals coming to an end. This suggests that while new purchases in the buy-to-let market continue to be impacted by recent tax and regulatory changes, many existing landlords remain committed to the market.

However, the homeowner remortgaging market has softened slightly, reflecting the many borrowers who had already locked into attractive deals in the months preceding the Bank of England’s base rate rise.”

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