Approved Mortgages for first time buyers up by 50pc
There has been a significant rise in the amount of mortgages approved for first time buyers in 2013, according to the Building Societies Association. Figures released indicate that that there has been a 50pc increase in the amount of mortgage loans approved so far this year in comparison to the same period in 2012.
There have been a total of 32,000 approved mortgages for first time buyers so far this year, with 9,000 of these loans for those with a deposit of 10pc or less. This is up from 3,400 for the same five month period last year.
Moving away from first time buyers, there is also encouraging news across other demographics. Figures from May indicate that mortgage approvals across the board were at the highest level for over three years, according to the Bank of England (BoE). The month of May saw a total of 58,242 mortgages approved by lenders, but while this is the highest for some time, it is still some way below the historical monthly average of 85,000.
Lending from building societies and mutual’s also saw an increase. The first five months of the year saw lending from mutual’s more than double when compared to the same period last year, while figures for building societies in May were up from the same month last year. The rest of the market was shown to have contracted, down by £3.4bn compared to 2012.
Paul Broadhead, head of mortgage policy at the BSA, said: “Building societies and other mutual lenders continue to play a dominant role in supporting members of the UK public looking to buy a new home”.
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