Mortgage approvals in March are up.

April 26, 2016

The British Bankers Association today released March 2016 figures for the High Street Banks.

 

Gross mortgage borrowing of £17.1 billion in March was 64% higher than a year ago and the highest borrowing since April 2008 following a reported sharp increase in purchase of buy-to-let and second homes, ahead of the increase in stamp duty on 1 April 2016.

The number of mortgage approvals in March was 20% higher than a year ago, with remortgaging up 25% and house purchase up 14%.

Dr Rebecca Harding, Chief Economic Advisor at the BBA, said:

“A surge in buy-to-let and second home buying ahead of the new stamp duty surcharge in April led to a sharp rise in March’s gross mortgage borrowing as people brought transactions forward.

“For households more widely, consumer credit continues to grow above real earnings growth, as improving consumer confidence and low interest rates combine to stimulate borrowing demand for personal loans, cards and overdrafts.

“Business borrowing is moderating within distribution, manufacturing, food and accommodation sectors, as large corporates use capital markets for their funding and both large and small businesses continue to build up deposits”.

To read the full BBA report March 2016 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

Estate Agent Talk

What Every Estate Agent Should Tell Clients Before Moving Day

For most estate agents, the job is done once contracts are exchanged, completion takes place, and the keys are handed over. For your client, however, that’s when one of the biggest challenges begins. Moving day has the power to turn months of excitement into an incredibly stressful experience, or a smooth finish to what has…
Read More →
Breaking News

Breaking Property News 9/7/26

Daily bite-sized proptech and property news in partnership with Proptech-X.   PropTech is evolving but WhatsApp is still winning the Property transaction battle A home-moving process that a decade of PropTech failed to fix   Thought leadership by Olivier Jauniaux Founder of NestLink There are a particular series of messages, somewhere in every property chain, that decides whether…
Read More →
Breaking News

Heatwaves haven’t diminished love for south-facing gardens

The latest research from Yopa reveals that despite 81% of people saying they have been avoiding their garden during the recent heatwaves, south-facing gardens continue to be the preferred orientation of choice for UK homeowners, attracting house price premiums of over £20,000 on average. However, the insight from Yopa also suggests that should heatwaves become…
Read More →
Rightmove logo
Breaking News

Rightmove extends conversational search experience to property listings 

Rightmove is launching the next stage of its conversational search experience for home-movers, bringing the innovative new capability to its property listings. The move is part of Rightmove’s approach to ensure that ‘However you discover, we have you covered’. The ‘Ask Rightmove’ conversational search experience launched on its home page earlier this year, bringing a more personalised and interactive way to search…
Read More →
Breaking News

Homebuyer demand slips in Q2 2026

Buyer demand slips in Q2 2026, with North and Midlands continuing to outperform southern markets The latest sales demand data from eXp UK has revealed that homebuyer demand in England slipped by -1.1% in Q2 2026. The analysis also reveals a continued regional divide, with a number of counties in the North and Midlands recording…
Read More →
Estate Agent Talk

International buyer slowdown one of Prime London’s biggest challenges

The latest survey of UK prime residential agents by AgentWise has found that many believe a slowdown in international buyer activity to be one of the biggest challenges facing the market today, whilst many have also noted an increase in the number of clients looking to explore property opportunities overseas rather than the UK. AgentWise…
Read More →