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Lending up in third quarter of 2015
Buy-to-let landlords lead the growth in the overall mortgage market, but rises seen across the board
Gross lending for the third quarter of this year stood at £61.4bn, up a significant 18% on the previous quarter and a 12% rise compared to last year, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML).
After a slow start to the year lending has picked up the pace and is expected to remain buoyant well into 2016.
Buy-to-let lending was particularly strong over the last three months, showing large quarter-on-quarter and year-on-year increases by number of loans and amount borrowed. It now represents 18% of gross lending, and according to the CML it is specifically buy-to-let remortgaging that is seeing the strongest growth.
But the increases were across the board with first-time buyer, home mover and remortgage actvity all up in terms of numbers of loans and value.
Overall in the third quarter, the value of homeowner loans for house purchase accounted for 57% of gross lending, while remortgage activity accounted for 24%.
Paul Smee, director general of the CML, commented:
“The market was a slow starter this year, but this quarter shows it is now firmly on an upward trajectory. With competitive rates and high levels of product choice currently available, alongside generally improving economic conditions, we expect this to continue as we head into the new year.
“Buy-to-let continues its growth this period, but at 18% of new lending in September remains the fourth largest lending type behind first-time buyers, home movers and remortgaging. There were five times as many house purchase loans to homeowners as buy-to-let landlords in September, and the growth in buy-to-let lending largely continues to reflect its more belated recovery from recession.”
