Gross mortgage lending for home buyers fell in September year on year

Gross mortgage lending across the residential property market in the UK in September was £21.5 billion, down 1.2% year on year, the latest figures show.

The number of mortgages approved by the main high street banks was 9.1% lower than last September, according to the data published by UK Finance. It also shows that approvals for house purchase were 10.1% lower and remortgage approvals were 7.4% lower.

Eric Leenders, managing director of personal finance at UK Finance, said:

‘The mortgage market softened slightly in September, following strong remortgaging activity in the months preceding the recent base rate rise.’

Regulatory changes, extortionate stamp duty, and Brexit have all contributed to a slump in the mortgage market, according to John Goodall, chief executive officer of buy to let specialist lender Landbay.

John Goodall said:

‘It is clear that now is not the time for the Chancellor to make changes or he runs the risk of further damaging the private rental sector. The only sweetener would be a reduction or removal of stamp duty, which would provide a much needed boost for the market.’

John Phillips, group operations director at Just Mortgages and Spicerhaart, believes that Brexit uncertainty is still affecting the mortgage market while many people may be waiting to see what Monday’s Budget may bring in terms of housing incentives before making any big decisions.

John Phillips said:

‘These figures suggest that the current political uncertainty is continuing to have a negative impact on the housing market while the upcoming Budget, which may include further housing incentives, may also be a factor in why things have slowed down.

‘The fact remortgaging has dropped, however, is the main difference here as house purchase figures have been falling for a while. There was a flurry of remortgage activity in the months preceding the recent rise, so the fact remortgage is down, is likely to do with that more than any marked trend.’

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