First-time buyer mortgages up 7 percent in December
The number of first-time buyers increased by 7% in December 2011, compared with the previous month, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders.
There were 18,700 first-time buyer loans advanced in December, worth £2.3bn, up 7% by volume and 10% by value from November.
There was also an increase in the proportion of properties, from 50% to 53%, bought by first-time buyers within the price band currently exempt from Stamp Duty, making it likely they are beginning to rush through purchases before the concession ends in March.
Those moving home however experienced a seasonal decrease in December from 29,300, worth £4.8bn in November, to 28,700, worth £4.6bn.
Overall, December saw an almost unchanged house purchase market from November. House purchasers took out 47,400 loans, worth £6.9bn, a 1% increase in volume, with no change in the value, from the previous month and 7% up from December 2010.
The number of loans for remortgage, however, declined 15% from November but the 28,100 loans, worth £3.6bn, taken out increased by 10% in volume from December 2010 following a low period for remortgaging.
It was a mixed picture for the mortgage market in 2011 as a whole. Remortgage lending increased by 17% from 2010 to £47bn, while house purchase lending, at £75bn, was 6% down on the previous year.
Paul Smee, director-general of the CML, says: “We have been expecting a flow of first-time buyers onto the market as the Stamp Duty exemption ends in March and December’s figures appear to show this has now begun.
“The market in 2011, while still subdued, saw a welcome increase in annual gross lending for the first time since 2007, when the financial crisis began. With the Eurozone problems still rumbling on however, we believe there is still a real risk that this year’s lending levels will be lower than those seen in 2011.”
Article reproduced with permission by Mortgage Strategy. Click on the link for more mortgage stories from www.mortgagestrategy.co.uk
