"First-time buyers remain an important part of the mortgage market, they made up the biggest part of the property market in 2018 for the first time in 23 years."
There were 30,720 new first-time buyer mortgages completed in May, 0.5% more than in the same month in 2018.
Remortgages with additional borrowing saw annual growth of 19.8% and the average additional amount borrowed in May was £52,000.
Additionally, pound-for-pound remortgaging was 19.7% higher than in May 2018.
Homemover mortgages dipped by 1.2% compared to May 2018 and buy-to-let purchase mortgages totalled 5,500, the same number as this time last year.
There were 29,430 homemover mortgages completed in May 2019, 1.2% less than in the same month a year earlier.
Louisa Sedgwick, director of mortgage sales at Vida Homeloans, commented: “First-time buyers remain an important part of the mortgage market, they made up the biggest part of the property market in 2018 for the first time in 23 years. It is no surprise that they are a sector of the industry that mortgage lenders are keen to attract, with the amount of completed first time buyer mortgages rising year on year.
“With the average age of a first time buyer now 32, the industry must continue to support those facing an uphill climb when it comes to buying a home. By providing affordable and sustainable rates, offering innovative, out the box thinking and diversifying product choices, lenders will continue to do their part in driving the UK FTB mortgage market forward.”
Stuart Wilson, corporate marketing dDirector at more 2 life, added: “Today’s statistics from UK Finance show that confidence amongst first-time buyers remains high despite some other areas of the market being more subdued. Help-to-Buy, along with other government initiatives, have gone a long way to help this pool of homeowners fulfil their borrowing needs – but some need to look further afield for financial support to afford their first home. While prices have dipped slightly, the average UK house price (£308,692) remains high in comparison to average salaries and finding enough to put down a 25% deposit (£77,173) without help is out of reach for most people.
“Consequently, the Bank of Mum and Dad remains strong as parents and grandparents continue to support these borrowers’ by stepping in with a ‘gift’ to assisting them onto the property ladder by sharing their property wealth. According to last Autumn’s report from the Equity Release Council, 1.1 million properties in England were purchased with the support of a gift or a loan from family or friends between 2017 and 2018. As more older homeowners realise the full potential of equity release and the benefits it can bring not only to their lives, but also to their families, advisers will have a crucial role to play in helping to guide these individuals to the right solution for them.”
