Mortgage borrowing remains bouyant in February

BBA figures for the High Street Banks February 2016released today.

Gross mortgage borrowing of £13.2 billion in February was lower than in January but 33% higher than a year ago and the second highest increase since mid-2008.

The number of mortgage approvals in February was 26% higher than a year ago, with remortgaging up 31% and house purchase up 20%.

Unsecured borrowing by households is growing at around 6% per annum reflecting low interest rates and relatively strong household finances.

Richard Woolhouse, Chief Economist at the BBA, said: “Mortgage borrowing remained buoyant in February. It appears that borrowers are continuing to try to get ahead of the increases in stamp duty for buy-to-let and second home buyers scheduled to come into effect next month.

“Consumer confidence is also robust. Households are increasingly taking advantage of low interest rates by taking on more unsecured borrowing.”

The BBA is the leading trade association for the UK banking sector with 200 member banks headquartered in over 50 countries with operations in 180 jurisdictions worldwide.

To read the 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

Breaking Property News 6/7/26

Daily bite-sized proptech and property news in partnership with Proptech-X.   Property portals are sales tools, what buyers need are truth tools   Thought leadership by Oliver Januiax Founder of NestLink   ‘The UK property market has an access not a search problem. For two decades, property portals solved the obvious question of where are the homes? They did it well enough…
Read More
New Builds 2020
Breaking News

New-build stock continues to fall as demand subdued

The latest analysis from Property Inspect has found that demand for new-build homes remained subdued during the second quarter of 2026, with just 16.3% of available new-build properties securing a buyer. At the same time, new-build stock levels continued to decline, accounting for 5.8% of all homes listed on the market across Great Britain. Property Inspect…
Read More
AI in estate agency letting agency property
Estate Agent Talk

5 Practical Examples: This is How AI is Changing Real Estate

There does not appear to be a single industry that is likely to be immune from the impact of AI. Therefore, it is no surprise to learn that seismic changes are happening in the world of real estate, thanks to the increasing influence of artificial intelligence. From using the technology to identify ways to save…
Read More
Crowded beaches - Clacton-on-Sea in Essex
Breaking News

Overheating moves up the housing agenda

441,000 rental homes fail thermal comfort standards The latest analysis from Inventory Base has found that an estimated 441,000 private rented homes in England failed thermal comfort standards in 2024, accounting for 40.3% of all non-decent private rental properties, as major reforms to the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS) came into force on…
Read More
Breaking News

Annual house price growth slows in June

The latest Nationwide House Price Index for June 2026 shows that: House prices fell by -0.0% between May 2026 and June 2026. Annual house price growth increased to 2.2% in June 2026, up from 1.7% in May 2026. The average UK house price for June 2026 now stands at £277,484, down slightly from £278,024 in…
Read More
Breaking News

Nationwide House Price Index May 2026

UK annual house price growth picked up to 3.0% in April, from 2.2% in March House prices were up 0.4% month on month Headlines Apr-26 Mar-26 Monthly Index* 554.8 552.7 Monthly Change* 0.4% 0.9% Annual Change 3.0% 2.2% Average Price (not seasonally adjusted) £278,880 £277,186 * Seasonally adjusted figure (note that monthly % changes are…
Read More