The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has estimated that gross mortgage lending reached £18.4 billion in April.
This is 11% lower than March’s lending total of £20.7 billion, but 4% higher than the £17.7 billion lent in April last year.
Mohammad Jamei, CML senior economist, said: “First-time buyers and remortgage customers appear to be buoying the market, as low mortgage rates are encouraging borrowers to remortgage and attractive government schemes are helping first-time buyers. We expect this trend to continue over the coming months.
“Home movers are having less luck. Their activity has been subdued for some time now and the low number of movers means fewer properties for sale. This supply and demand imbalance will continue to underpin house price values, even as the rate of price rises slows.”
John Goodall, CEO of Landbay, said: “Mortgage lending activity faced a rocky period in April, despite a number of record low mortgage rates and loan-to-value deals. However, with cheap finance helping many first-time buyers to step on the ladder, and encouraging homeowners to remortgage, the dip in activity is likely to be a blip.
“It’s unlikely that the snap election will have a large or immediate impact on the housing market, especially given that last week’s general election manifestos were disappointingly light on housing promises to tackle the UK’s supply shortage or improve the availability of rental accommodation. Tenants that are renting as a stepping stone on the way to home ownership rely on a well-served buy-to-let market to ensure rental growth doesn’t dampen their purchasing power.
“If we are truly going to address the wider issues of the housing market, the party leading the country after 8th June needs to make some cast iron commitments for further investment in the private rental sector, especially as rising inflation begins to hit people’s pockets.”