The number of loans for house purchase was up 12% in February , with 48,000 taken out according to the Council for Mortgage Lenders. The number of loans was also up 4% on January.
However the bu=iggest change the CML reported came in the buy-to-let sector, with 23,700 loans taken out up 1% on January but a huge 47% on February. The value of these loans also increased, with a similar value to January but 61% up from February 2015.
February saw 22,000 first time buyers take out mortgages, with growth in this area slightly behind the averages, up 3% on January and 11% on February last year, with home movers making up the remaining 26,000, a 4% month to month growth and a 14% year on year growth.
The number of remortgages dropped a 15% compared with January. However the 28,400 remortgages was also a 37% increase on twelve months ago.
Paul Smee, director general of the CML, said: “In 2016, there have been substantial increases in house purchase and remortgage activity year-on-year. This reflects the sluggish market in early 2015, perhaps driven by election uncertainties.
“Buy-to-let has also seen substantial year-on-year increases, with particularly strong growth in remortgaging, a pattern which we have seen in the buy-to-let sector the past six months. Activity has been boosted by landlords seeking to complete purchases before tax changes in April. We do not expect activity to show such strong year-on-year growth later in the year.”
Paul Smith, CEO of haart estate agents, said: “The CML data released today points to a very healthy property market with high levels of mortgage lending across all key demographics, including buy-to-let investors and first-time buyers. This correlates with our own data which shows that the number of first-time buyer registrations surged in February, up by 22.7% annually and 7.6% since January, the highest monthly increase in a year.
“For first-time buyers the next few months is a good time to buy – particularly now they are no longer competing with buy-to-let investors after the stamp duty surcharge that came into effect at the beginning of this month. Prices for first-time buyers are still at sky-high levels, with the average price of a starter home £176,281 in February, a 9.8% annual increase, but today’s data shows that lenders are providing the funds for many of them to get on the property ladder, and Help to Buy has played an important role in this.
“The ongoing issue is the supply of homes, and in the past few months buy-to-let investors have bought many of the types of property that first-time buyers are looking for, in the rush to market before April 1st, so the competition amongst those looking to buy their first home remains fierce.”
