While the rise year-on-year compared to the second quarter of 2014 was less substantial, this was the highest amount advanced and number of loans since the second quarter of 2008.
The breakdown in house purchase lending remains relatively evenly split, with first-time buyers accounting for 48% and home movers 52% of all house purchase activity.
Remortgage lending rebounded out of a stagnant period to total the highest volumes since the last quarter of 2013.
First-time buyers increased by numbers and amount borrowed both in comparison to the first quarter and the second quarter in 2014.
The typical loan size for first-time buyers was £101,515 in the second quarter, also up from £94,795 in the first quarter. Their payment burden in the second quarter was 17.2% of gross income to cover capital and interest payments, up on the first quarter's 17.0% but lower than the 18.4% UK average.
Home movers in Scotland typically borrowed 2.70 times their gross household income, up from 2.61 the previous quarter but less than the same quarter last year and the UK average of 3.08.
The typical loan size for home movers was £133,000 in the second quarter, down from £138,000 the previous quarter and lower than the £160,994 UK average. The typical gross income of a home movers' household was £50,809, also down compared to £54,159 in the first quarter.
Home movers' payment burden in the second quarter saw them spend 16.4% of their gross household income being spent to cover capital and interest payments, a slight change from 16.7% in the first quarter, but lower than the 18% UK average.
Kennedy Foster, CML Policy Consultant, Scotland, commented:
"After three quarters of consecutive decline, it is welcome to see house purchase levels in Scotland bounce back finally. This quarter saw the highest number of loans to those purchasing a home since the second quarter of 2008. With competitive mortgage deals, better affordability than the UK overall and and the replacement of stamp duty with a new taxation system that benefits the majority of borrowers, it appears conditions are relatively favourable at the moment in Scotland for those looking to buy a home."
Christine Campbell, managing director of Your Move Scotland, added:
“It’s been hard to see the wood from the trees at times in 2015 – with the new property tax and then the General Election pulling the Scottish housing market in different directions and taking us off the traditional course. But these figures make for a very welcome sight at the end of it.
“The revised stamp duty system in Scotland has certainly made its mark on demand and provided the helping hand we needed to give borrowing a leg-up after some dawdling. Since its introduction house purchase loans have soared to a seven-year high, after a staggering 39% quarterly leap. Scottish buyers are eagerly making the most of the new tax savings available, and we’ve seen property sales rise 25% month-on-month in June. With ‘Black Monday’ now delaying an interest rate rise into 2016, the borrowing environment should encourage demand even further – particularly among first-timers in Scotland, who aren’t having to stretch themselves quite as much as those south of the border while house price growth remains steady.”
