The value of gross mortgage advances increased to £77.6bn in the first three months of the year, the highest level seen since the end of 2022, data from the Financial Conduct Authority has revealed.
The FCA’s mortgage lending statistics for Q1 2025 found mortgage advances increased by 12.8 per cent compared to the last quarter of 2024 and were 50.4 per cent higher compared to last year.
Advances for buy-to-let properties decreased compared to the previous quarter, falling by 0.3 percentage points to 8 per cent.
Meanwhile, the share of gross mortgage advances for house purchases for owner occupation increased by 2.6 percentage points from the previous quarter to 66.3 per cent – the highest share since the second quarter of 2021.
Of this 66.3 per cent, lending to first-time buyers increased by 1.8 percentage points to 31.4 per cent.
This represented the highest level of lending to first-time buyers since the authority began reporting in 2007.
Additionally, the share advanced to home movers increased by 0.8 percentage points from the previous quarter to 34.9 per cent, and was 6.1 percentage points higher than a year earlier.
The value of new mortgage commitments fell by 1.5 per cent from the previous quarter to £68.2bn, but remained 13.5 per cent higher than a year earlier.
Arrears
Elsewhere, new arrears cases decreased by 1.7 percentage points from the previous quarter to 10.2 per cent.
Similarly, the value of outstanding mortgage balances with arrears decreased by 2.9 per cent from the previous quarter to £21.5bn.
However, this remained 0.9 per cent higher than a year earlier.
Of the £21.5bn of outstanding mortgage balances with arrears, non-regulated mortgages, including buy-to-let loans and other residential lending, decreased by 2.4 per cent from the previous quarter to £4.7bn.
tom.dunstan@ft.com
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