Gross mortgage borrowing at seven-year high

Gross mortgage borrowing hit £12.9 billion in October, 26% higher than in the same month last year and the largest since August 2008, according to the latest BBA figures.

Related topics:  Mortgages
Rozi Jones
25th November 2015
coin money house grow

After seeing slower demand in the second half of 2014, the overall mortgage stock is now 1.9% higher than a year ago.

House purchase approvals recovered in October, with all months in 2015 exceeding corresponding months in 2014. There were 21% more approvals in October than in the same month last year.

Remortgaging approvals moderated in October but were still 34% higher than October last year while other approvals were also 41% higher than a year ago.

Richard Woolhouse, Chief Economist at the BBA, said:

“These statistics show that housing market activity remained strong in October, with gross mortgage borrowing 26 per cent higher than a year ago and at its highest level for seven years.

"Consumers remain confident and their incomes are growing. Mortgage rates are at multi-year lows and people are snapping up the very competitive deals being offered by banks."

Mark Harris, chief executive of mortgage broker SPF Private Clients, added:

"Housing market activity continues to pick up as we head towards the end of the year, with gross mortgage borrowing at its highest level for seven years.

"Borrowers exude confidence, taking advantage of extremely cheap mortgage rates. Incomes are rising, while lenders are keen to lend in order to meet their year-end targets. However, while the Bank of England has issued concerns about the level of household debt, we are far from experiencing a debt-fuelled boom. Mortgage approvals are rising but far from racing away while growth is more moderate and therefore more sustainable than in the past. For many borrowers, tougher affordability criteria is still a barrier to getting a mortgage or remortgaging."

More like this
Latest from Property Reporter
Latest from Protection Reporter
CLOSE
Subscribe
to our newsletter

Join a community of over 30,000 intermediaries and keep up-to-date with industry news and upcoming events via our newsletter.