Mortgage lending continues to rise
First-time buyers have accounted for a significant proportion of new lending as the number of mortgages granted to homebuyers rose for the third consecutive month.
The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) saw a two per cent rise in the number of loans for house purchase between August and September. The figure for the period was 50,600, of which 19,700 were for first-time buyers and this was up five per cent on the previous month.
It found the average loan to value of a first-time buyer mortgage
was 75%, and the CML believes parental assistance is helping to
provide a large chunk of the 25% deposits required.
The figures also showed a rise in remortgage numbers of 10 per cent to 33,000 last month. Remortgage numbers had previously lagged mortgages for buyers as homeowners stayed on their existing deals.
The CML said that one third of all first-time buyers, or 6,100, benefited from the stamp duty threshold extension in September, piling further pressure on the Government to extend the holiday for longer. The Government had temporarily increased the threshold from £125,000 to £175,000 last September but is due to remove the concession from the beginning of next year.
CML economist, Paul Samter, said: "As the end date for the stamp duty concession approaches, we may see sustained levels of activity at the lower end of the market in a traditionally quiet time."