UK Finance has reported that there were 32,760 new first-time buyer mortgages completed in June 2019, 1.5% fewer than in the same month in 2018.
Meanwhile, there were 31,000 homemover mortgages completed in June 2019, 3.6% fewer than in the same month a year earlier.
However, there were 16,880 new remortgages with additional borrowing in June 2019, 8.3% more than in the same month in 2018. For these remortgages, the average additional amount borrowed in June was £56,100. There were 15,320 new pound-for-pound remortgages (with no additional borrowing) in June 2019, 23.9% fewer than in June 2018.
UK Finance said this has been driven in part by a slight drop in the number of fixed-rate mortgages coming to an end and the growing popularity of product transfers.
There were 5,300 new buy-to-let home purchase mortgages completed in June 2019, 3.6% fewer than this time last year. There were 12,500 remortgages in the buy-to-let sector, 0.8% fewer than the same month in 2018.
Rob Barnard, sales director at Masthaven, said: “The upward trend in remortgaging is a sign of the caution many feel towards the housing market during this period of political turbulence. However, despite this uncertainty, the first-time buyer market remains largely unaffected showing only a small decrease over the month.
“Whether this can be attributed to government initiatives such as the Help to Buy scheme, the ‘gifting’ of wealth from parents to children, or the rise in competitive products offered by lenders, it is clear that the market fundamentals remain strong.
“However, with the end of the Help to Buy Scheme in 2023 and no signs of the end of the current political disruption, there is an onus on the market to offer increased product innovation and incentives to encourage would-be buyers to take the next steps onto, or up, the property ladder.”