First-time buyers

5.8% increase in FTB mortgages in November



Some 36,200 new first-time buyer (FTB) mortgages were completed in November 2018, according to new figures from UK Finance.


The trade association’s mortgage trends update for the month reported that this represented a 5.8% rise in FTB mortgage completions compared with November 2017.

There was £6bn of new lending during the same period, 9.1% higher than the previous year, while the average FTB was 30 with a gross household income of £42,000.

The data also revealed that there were 36,200 new homemover mortgages completed in November 2018, up 1.1% on November 2017, with £7.8bn of new lending in the month, 4% higher than the previous year.

Meanwhile, there were 6,100 new BTL home purchase mortgages completed in the month, down 9% on November 2017.

However, BTL remortgage completions rose by 9.5% to 15,000.

“A mixture of competitive deals and schemes, including Help to Buy, saw even more first-time buyers get a foot on the housing ladder during November,” said Jackie Bennett, director of mortgages at UK Finance.

“In the buy-to-let market, new home purchases remain subdued, while remortgaging continues to grow as landlords lock into attractive rates.”



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