"Overall house purchase completions remain stable, driven largely by the number of first-time buyers which reached its highest monthly level since June 2017."
Remortgage figures dipped by 0.3% to 37,100, which UK Finance attributes to a number of borrowers already securing deals ahead of the Bank of England's base rate rise.
New buy-to-let purchase mortgages fell by 13% on an annual basis, however buy-to-let remortgaging remained strong due to the number of two-year fixed deals coming to an end, with completions up 4.5% compared to August 2017.
Jackie Bennett, director of mortgages at UK Finance, said: “Overall house purchase completions remain stable, driven largely by the number of first-time buyers which reached its highest monthly level since June 2017.
“Buy-to-let remortgaging saw relatively strong growth in August, due in part to the number of two-year fixed deals coming to an end. This suggests that while new purchases in the buy-to-let market continue to be impacted by recent tax and regulatory changes, many existing landlords remain committed to the market.
“However, the homeowner remortgaging market has softened slightly, reflecting the many borrowers who had already locked into attractive deals in the months preceding the Bank of England’s base rate rise.”
Liz Syms, CEO at Connect for Intermediaries, commented: “Today’s figures show a mixed picture, which tells a story of the continuing unease felt surrounding Brexit and also the wider economy."The continued pressure on landlords is mirrored in the number of buy-to-let purchases. However, although there are some landlords that have taken recent changes as a sign to leave the sector, there are still plenty actually looking to increase their portfolios.
"We are also seeing an increase in the number of portfolio landlords looking at longer-term fixed rate mortgages, which is manifest in the increase in remortgages in the month. With more products available, for longer-terms, this is a trend that is likely to continue, at least until we are more certain about the outcome of Brexit negotiations.”
