Homeowners in Scotland borrowed £1.8bn for house purchase in Q1 2016, down 22% quarter-on-quarter but up 1% year-on-year, the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has revealed.
They took out 13,500 loans, down 22% on the previous quarter but up 7% compared to the first quarter 2015.
First-time buyers borrowed £660m, down 24% on the fourth quarter 2015 but up 10% on the first quarter last year. This totalled 6,200 loans, down 23% quarter-on-quarter but up 11% year-on-year.
In addition, homemovers borrowed £1.1bn, down 21% quarter-on-quarter and down 4% compared to a year ago. This totalled 7,300 loans, down 22% quarter-on-quarter but up 4% on quarter one 2015.
Remortgage activity totalled £780m, down 1% on the fourth quarter 2015 but up 13% compared to a year ago. This came to 6,400 loans, down 5% quarter-on-quarter but 5% up compared to a year ago.
Carol Anderson, CML Scotland chair, said: “Seasonal factors often affect lending levels in the first quarter of the year, but there are encouraging indicators in Scotland, as all lending types showed growth year-on-year.
“2016 saw the strongest first quarter in a year for house purchase lending since 2008 and, with affordability conditions continuing to be favourable, we would expect gradual year-on-year growth in Scotland to continue throughout 2016.”