Total number of loans advanced to first-time buyers in March was 23,000 – up 20% on February but 5% down compared to March 2014, the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has revealed.
In March, first-time buyers borrowed £3.4 billion, which was up 21% on February and 3% up on March last year.
During the same period, home movers took out 25,200 loans, an increase of 14% compared to February but down 3% year-on-year. These loans were worth £4.9bn – up 17% on February and 7% compared to March 2014.
Remortgage lending increased month-on-month with 26,600 loans advanced – up 19% on February and 6% up on March 2014. The value of these loans (£4.2 billion) also increased month-on-month by 24% and was up 14% year-on-year compared to March 2014.
There were 18,200 buy-to-let loans in March – up 12% on the previous month and up 21% compared to March 2014. These loans were worth £2.7bn, up 13% compared to February and up 35% on March 2014.
During the first quarter of 2015, first-time buyers took out 61,300 loans in the first quarter 2015 – down 24% on the fourth quarter of 2014 and 11% down on the first quarter of 2014. First-time buyers borrowed £9 billion, which was down 23% on the fourth quarter of 2014 and a year-on-year decrease of 5% compared to the first quarter 2014.
In the first three moths of the year, home movers took out 70,400 loans, a decrease of 25% compared to the fourth quarter 2014 and a decrease of 11% year-on-year. These loans totalled in value £13.5bn – down 22% on the previous quarter and 5% down year-on-year on the first quarter 2014.
Remortgage lending increased quarter-on-quarter with 75,400 loans advanced – up 3% on the fourth quarter 2014 but down 5% on the same quarter last year. The value of these loans (£11.8 billion) also increased quarter-on-quarter by 6% and was up 2% year-on-year compared to quarter one 2014.
There were 52,300 buy-to-let loans advanced in the first quarter of 2015 – down 3% on the previous quarter but up 15% on the same period in 2014. These loans were worth £7.8bn in value, up 1% compared to the first quarter and up 28% on the first quarter of 2014.
Paul Smee, director general of the CML, said: “It was a slow start to activity in the first couple of months of 2015 but the market started to get out of the dip in March, a trend that we think will continue as the year goes on.
“We will have to wait and see how the housing market reacts to the general election result and the reduction in the risk of a prolonged period of market uncertainty which could well have been damaging to businesses and the housing market.”