Brian Murphy, Head of Lending for Mortgage Advice Bureau comments:
“The figures released by UK Finance this morning chimes with other data we’ve seen previously which points to a solid start for the UK property market in 2018.
It’s not surprising to see that the numbers of homeowners remortgaging in January were so high, given a combination of the currently competitive low fixed deals available together with the signposted interest rate increases later this year. On the purchase side, it’s encouraging to see that First Time Buyer borrower numbers rose in January, as they tend to underpin the rest of the market, which was evidenced by the corresponding increase of those borrowing to move home.
What may be considered slightly surprising given the current climate is the year on year increase in buy-to-let borrowing, which until recently had become relatively subdued as the effects of Section 24 has become apparent to many landlords. What this may suggest is that those investors who have decided to stay in the market have taken time to re-trench and garner the appropriate tax advice, and are now taking advantage of stock which is becoming available where other landlords are deciding to exit.”
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