house purchase lending up 8% yr on yr in May

The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) in a press release published  today on their website states ‘May house purchase lending 8% up on a year ago’.

In May (In Brief) according to CML, Home-owners borrowed £9.4bn for house purchase, First-time buyers borrowed £4.3bn, Home movers borrowed £5.1bn, Remortgage activity totalled £5.2bn and Landlords borrowed £2.6bn.

Paul Smee, director general of the CML, commented: “There was a sense of the market regaining some equilibrium in May, following the stamp duty driven spike in March and the subsequent dip in April. For the second month running, first-time buyers borrowed more than home movers, the first time in 20 years that this has been the case. Buy-to-let continues at lower levels as expected, after the change to stamp duty.

“Brexit, and its likely effect on the market, is a question to which the answer will not immediately be forthcoming. Lenders will continue to be open for business as usual, but lending volumes may be affected by uncertain consumer sentiment”.

To read the CML report 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.

You May Also Enjoy

Breaking News

Four in ten homes see asking price reduced

More than four in ten homes currently listed for sale across England have already seen their asking price reduced, according to the latest market analysis by eXp UK, with the number of reduced properties climbing by 3.6% since August. eXp UK analysed property listings across England to establish how many have undergone an asking-price reduction.…
Read More →
Breaking News

Breaking Property News 19/10/26

Daily bite-sized proptech and property news in partnership with Proptech-X.   Last week Sourced Living began rolling out Genifea across its branches, the platform’s first commercial CRM integration. By Author Andrew Stanton CEO Proptech-PR Andrew Stanton spoke to founder Pragati Dhingra about what the Genifea platform actually does, where AI fits in an estate agency,…
Read More →
Breaking News

Mixed signals in UK construction as contract awards rise, but starts fall

Detailed planning approvals declined 16% against the preceding three months and fell 28% lower than last year, a warning sign for future work. Main contract awards dropped 19% against the last three months but climbed 25% year-on-year, a sign that major schemes are being committed. Project starts took the steepest fall, declining 26% against the…
Read More →
Estate Agent Talk

Estate Agents Brace for Rising Compliance Costs

Nearly two-thirds of compliance leaders in estate agencies and property firms expect budgets to increase amid growing pressures Just 6% expect cuts, down from 31% last year, while 63% now work weekly overtime on AML The majority of senior compliance professionals in UK property firms and estate agents expect their budgets and teams to grow…
Read More →
Breaking News

The £2m Mansion Tax, ‘Renting for Now’, and Life Under the Renters’ Rights Act

Leading estate agency Winkworth has released its Autumn Report on Prime Central London, highlighting the key trends that shaped the third quarter of 2026. The report provides exclusive analysis of how the incoming High Value Council Tax Surcharge, the so-called Mansion Tax, is already influencing pricing around the £2 million threshold, and how the market…
Read More →
Breaking News

Rightsizing Revisited: Homeowners seek £100k profits from downsizing

A new Barclays policy snapshot, Rightsizing Revisited, finds a quarter (24 per cent) of homeowners are open to downsizing However, seven in 10 (71 per cent) homeowners cite financial risks and upfront costs as barriers to making the change Homeowners say they would need to release an average of £108,516 from their property sale for…
Read More →