"Completions falling by 10% year on year, for first-time buyers and home-movers alike, is a sure sign of people holding off on making big decisions."
Homemover mortgages completed fell by 10.6% on an annual basis, although UK Finance says this movement reflects "particularly strong home-purchase activity" in November 2018.
There were 18,610 new remortgages with additional borrowing in November, 5.7% more than in the same month in 2018. For these remortgages, the average additional amount borrowed in November was £51,470. There were 18,470 new pound-for-pound remortgages in November, 12.4% fewer than in November 2018.
Buy-to-let purchase mortgages dipped 4.5% and buy-to-let remortgaging saw an annual fall of 5.1%.
John Phillips, national operations director at Just Mortgages, commented: “These figures are evidence – if any were needed – of the damaging effect of political uncertainty on the market. Completions falling by 10% year on year, for first-time buyers and home-movers alike, is a sure sign of people holding off on making big decisions.
“Since these figures were collected, of course, there’s been an election and there’s a much greater sense of direction after what seems like an eternity of drift and delay.
“We’re already seeing a strong start to the year and confidence beginning to return to the market. There’s a real sense that people are putting the whole Brexit issue behind them and getting on with their lives.”
