Mortgage Lenders and Administrators Statistics – 2025 Q1
Key findings
The outstanding value of all residential mortgage loans increased by 1.2% from the previous quarter to £1,698.5 billion, and was 2.6% higher than a year earlier
The value of gross mortgage advances increased by 12.8% from the previous quarter to £77.6 billion, the highest new advances since 2022 Q4, and was 50.4% higher than a year earlier.
The value of new mortgage commitments (lending agreed to be advanced in the coming months) decreased by 1.5% from the previous quarter to £68.2 billion, but remained 13.5% higher than a year earlier.
The share of gross mortgage advances with loan-to-value (LTV) ratios exceeding 90% increased by 0.4pp from the previous quarter to 6.7%, the highest share since 2008 Q2, and was 1.5pp higher than a year earlier.
The share of gross mortgage advances for house purchase for owner occupation increased by 2.6pp from the previous quarter to 66.3%, the highest share since 2021 Q2, and was 11.7pp higher than a year earlier.
Of the 66.3% of advances for house purchases by owner occupiers, lending to first time buyers increased by 1.8pp from the previous quarter to 31.4%, the highest share since reporting began in 2007, and was 5.6pp higher than a year earlier. The share advanced to home movers increased by 0.8pp from the previous quarter to 34.9%, and was 6.1pp higher than a year earlier.
The share of gross advances for remortgages for owner occupation decreased by 2.2pp from the previous quarter to 21.3%, and was 10.5pp lower than a year earlier.
New arrears cases (as a proportion of total outstanding balances with arrears) decreased by 1.7pp from the previous quarter to 10.2%, and was 1.2pp lower than a year earlier.
The number of new possessions in 2025 Q1 increased by 12.3% from the previous quarter to 2,307, the highest since 2019 Q3, and was 10.0% higher than a year earlier.
The total stock of possessions increased by 7.2% from the previous quarter to 7,822, the highest since 2014 Q3, and was 29.7% higher than a year earlier.
Toby Leek, NAEA Propertymark President, comments:
“It is encouraging to see enhanced confidence in mortgage lending overall during the first quarter of 2025 and that there is still a strong appetite for purchasing homes despite interest rates still being relatively high in contrast to recent years. With hopes of interest rates dropping further over the coming months, hopefully this will enable more people to take their next steps within their housing journey and contribute to even greater levels of consumer affordability across the summer.”