Latest Mortgage Lenders and Administrators Statistics show the outstanding value of all residential mortgage loans was £1,486 billion in 2019 Q3, 3.9% higher than a year earlier.
The value of gross mortgage advances was £73.3 billion, broadly unchanged in comparison to Q3 in 2018.
In addition, the value of new mortgage commitments (lending agreed to be advanced in the coming months) was 1.1% higher than a year earlier, at £73.8 billion.
The share of mortgages advanced in Q3 with loan to value (LTV) ratios exceeding 90% increased to 5.9%. Lending in this LTV bracket is at its highest since 2008 Q4.
Meanwhile, the share of gross mortgage lending for buy-to-let purposes (covering house purchase, remortgage and further advance) was 12.3%, consistent with 2018 Q3.
The value of outstanding balances with some arrears fell significantly to £13.7 billion, and now accounts for 0.92% of outstanding mortgage balances.
Mark Pilling, Spicerhaart Corporate Sales managing director, said: “The Q3 arrears figures from Bank of England are encouraging, especially given the current political situation. It just shows that no matter what is going on in Westminster people are looking after their own affairs and trying to stay on top of things.
“The trend for higher loan to value mortgages is always a concern, as we head into uncharted waters next year. There is no way, at the moment, to predict what will happen in the economy when, and if, Brexit is completed and there is a real risk that interest rates will rise. With this in mind, it is more important than ever for lenders to ensure long term affordability. We do not want to find ourselves back in a situation where repossessions begin to rise and people lose their homes.”