House hunters come out of hibernation

After a sedate first four months, May’s warmer weather brought the house hunters out in force.

May saw a substantial jump in mortgage activity; the total value of home loans being arranged by AWD Moneyextra was up by more than 27 per cent on the previous month.

At the same time the average value of mortgages completed by AWD Moneyextra customers rose by more than 7 per cent to £150,556.02.

The average value of loans completed over the past five months was £140,898.53 against £126,908.13 in the same period of 2005.

Robin Amlot, of Moneyextra.com, said: “Any sign that a relative glut of property is coming onto the housing market, together with the outlook for higher rates in the near future, is likely to restrain any exuberance in the housing market.”

It is too early to tell whether the upswing is a new trend in the mortgage market or whether it is just a late Spring blip.

However, the average mortgage comparison carried out in May on Moneyextra.com was £135,109.290, up 3.79 per cent on year-ago levels and up 16.80 per cent on March 2004.