"We expect the market to take several months to return to its previous levels after the lending surge."
- CML
Remortgage lending was the only lending type to show both month-on-month and year-on-year increases in April - 25% and 40% respectively. April saw the highest volume of loans for remortgage in a month since July 2009, and the highest lending value for remortgage since January 2009.
Unsurprisingly, landlords saw the sharpest monthly fall, with borrowing down 65% month-on-month at £2.5bn. This came to 16,100 loans in total, down 64% compared to March and down 10% compared to April 2015.
Home-owners borrowed £8.1bn for house purchase, a 40% monthly drop and a 4% drop year-on-year. The number of loans taken out totalled 47,300 - down 31% on March and 5% on April 2015.
First-time buyers borrowed £3.9bn, down 11% on March but up 15% on April last year. However the CML data shows that affordability metrics for first-time buyers have remained relatively stable. Even though the typical loan size decreased to £129,950 from £133,000 last month, this was offset by the household income of borrowers also decreasing slightly from £40,600 in March to £39,700 in April, which meant the income multiple stayed the same at 3.46.
Home movers borrowed £4.3bn, down 53% on March and 14% compared to a year ago.
Paul Smee, director general of the CML, commented: "There is a sense of calm after the storm this month, as lending eased back, following the significant rises in activity in March as borrowers looked to beat the second property stamp duty deadline. We expect the market to take several months to return to its previous levels after the lending surge."
Matt Andrews, Managing Director, Bluestone Mortgages, added: “Although April saw a slight drop in lending figures, we can expect numbers to rise again after the stamp-duty surge we saw in March, as credit remains fundamental to the UK home buying process."
