House purchase lending jumps to seven-year for October
Mortgage lending reached its highest level for the month of October in seven years, new data released today shows, as low inflation rates and rising wages helped keep consumer confidence levels high.
Overall house purchase lending approvals reached 72,409 in October, up by 5.1 per cent on the previous month and 21.9 per cent ahead of October 2014’s total of 59,392, according to e.surv chartered surveyors.
The report also indicated this was the highest number of approvals since January 2014 (75,691), and the highest level for any October month since 2008.
“Autumn has already beaten summer lending levels, with the housing market slowdown seen after MMR now firmly in the shadows,” Richard Sexton, director of e.surv, said. “Lenders aren’t shying away from supporting buyers and appear confident that lending volumes will grow in 2016.”
The data supports separate lending figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) yesterday showing a rise in lending over the quarter to the end of September, with first time buyer lending rising by 13.5 per cent, house purchase by 18 per cent and remortgaging by 4.3 per cent.
Buy-to-let levels also surged by 23.5 per cent, with 71,500 loans taken out for property purchases and remortgaging worth £10.9bn.
E.surv said small-deposit lending (to buyers with a deposit worth 15 per cent or less of their property’s total value) fell by 4.2 per cent from 12,466 in September, but has grown by a third year-on-year from 9,103 in October 2014 to reach 11,947 approvals this month.
This total is the highest figure of small-deposit lending approvals seen in the month since October 2008, which saw only 6,540 approvals.