Mortgage lending rose in May

July 13, 2017

The UK Finance press release yesterday headlines ‘Home buyers up 12% in May compared to April’.

May mortgage lending trends show month-on-month and year-on-year increases in house purchase, buy-to-let and remortgage activity.

On a non-seasonally adjusted basis, UK Finance data shows that mortgage lending in May rose. In May home buyers borrowed £10.8bn, up 10% on April and 16% on May 2016.

Paul Smee, Head of Mortgages at UK Finance, commented: “The apparent strong growth in mortgage lending in May might flatter to deceive. The relative weakness in lending last May following the stamp duty changes makes comparisons misleading. The seasonally adjusted data shows a less buoyant lending picture, with home buying activity remaining relatively unchanged month-on-month and remortgage lending gradually decreasing each month since January.

“In the summer months, we expect home buying activity to continue with an even split between first-time buyers and home movers but in greater numbers than in the winter months; we expect buy-to-let to remain subdued compared to its recent 2015 peak”.

Read the UK Finance press release 12th July 2017 in full click here.

Allen Walkey

Highly experienced businessman with a successful career in property sales and investment both in the UK and abroad. Now a freelance writer and blogger for the property and Investment Industry, keeping readers up-to-date with changes and events in a rapidly changing world.

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