The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has estimated that gross mortgage lending totalled £25.7 billion in March, driven by a surge to beat the second property stamp duty surcharge deadline.
Lending was 43% higher than February (£18 billion), and 59% higher than March 2015 (£16.2 billion), and the highest March figure since 2007 when gross lending reached £30.9 billion.
Gross mortgage lending for the first quarter of this year was therefore an estimated £62.1 billion. This is the same level as in the previous quarter, but 39% higher than the first three months of 2015.
CML economist Mohammad Jamei said: “Against a backdrop of a recovering market, the substantial jump in lending in March was significantly influenced by a late surge of activity to beat the government’s stamp duty change on second properties, which came into effect at the start of April. The distortion caused by this stamp duty change appears to be larger than any previous stamp duty change we’ve seen.
“As a result, we expect there will be about 10,000 fewer mortgaged transactions each month in the second quarter of 2016 than would otherwise have been the case, offsetting the increase in activity seen in March.”
Matt Andrews, managing director of Bluestone Mortgages, added: “Although March saw a huge spike in lending, unfortunately there are still large areas of the UK workforce who are not benefitting from the recent low rates the market has seen. Headline deals from mainstream lenders may seem attractive, however, it is important that customers are aware that these are normally only offered to those with perfect credit scores.
“For the growing number of consumers who sit outside of the ‘perfect borrower’ category and struggle to get access to lending, such as self-employed customers who have inconsistent cash-flows and customers with adverse credit history, an accurate and personal underwriting experience is needed to ensure that each case is given the best advice and options available to them and their individual circumstances.
“There are many consumers who are currently underserved and therefore it is vital that more flexible lending options come into the market to cater to hard working people across the UK who have experienced genuine hiccups and deserve lenders that listen and treat each case with a tailored, individual approach.”