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.

You May Also Enjoy

Estate Agent Talk

Why Your Charger is the Silent Hero of Remote Work Culture

Telecommuting has transformed the concept of productivity. Whether it is the replacement of conference rooms with video calls or the cloud-based apps managing group work, the digital transformation has had an impact on virtually all areas of our work-life. Yet, as we curl around and argue the need for a faster Wi-Fi connection, ergonomic office…
Read More →
Breaking News

Latest HMRC UK property transactions report

Headline statistics Headline statistics from the latest transactions data include: the provisional seasonally adjusted estimate of the number of UK residential transactions in July 2025 is 95,580, 4% higher than July 2024 and 1% higher than June 2025 the provisional non-seasonally adjusted estimate of the number of UK residential transactions in July 2025 is 101,070,…
Read More →
Estate Agent Talk

New property taxes could be last nail in the coffin for housing investment

A new property tax could prove to be the final “nail in the coffin” for property as an investment, warns Rathbones, one of the UK’s leading wealth managers. According to reports, the Treasury is examining options for property taxes ahead of the Budget – including a levy on homes sold for more than £500,000, the…
Read More →
Breaking News

Industry reacts as Landlords to be hit with N.I tax

The Government is considering a major change to the way landlords are taxed, with Chancellor Rachel Reeves weighing up plans to apply National Insurance (NI) contributions to rental income as part of her upcoming Autumn Budget. Currently, rental income is subject to income tax but not NI. However, by expanding NI to cover this additional…
Read More →
Overseas Property

Brits Are Flocking to Australia in 2025 

The end of summer is always a busy time for international moves, and 2025 is no exception. So far this year, the number of people planning to move abroad has risen by 11% compared to the first half of 2024, according to Compare My Move.  What’s changed is where Brits are choosing to go. Australia…
Read More →
Breaking News

UK reports rising property market momentum

eXp UK reports rising property market momentum as sellers return and more sales are agreed The latest internal data from eXp UK has revealed that housing market momentum is continuing to build, with more homes coming to market and a greater number of sales being agreed. eXp UK analysis is based on the firm’s own…
Read More →