A 25 per cent increase in mortgage activity during the first quarter of 2013 points to a growing resurgence in the market, according to March’s National Mortgage Index from Mortgage Advice Bureau – the UK’s leading independent mortgage broker.
Combined purchase and remortgage cases were up by a quarter during the first three months of 2013, compared with the final three months of 2012, and by 18 per cent compared with the equivalent period last year.
Using data from more than 500 brokers and 800 estate agents, the National Mortgage Index shows the strongest momentum is with purchase activity, helped by an 11 per cent monthly increase to March 2013. This boosted the quarterly increase in purchase business to 26 per cent, compared with 22 per cent for remortgages, which dropped by 2 per cent in the month.
Total mortgage activity for March was 22 per cent higher than in March 2012, fuelled by a 13 per cent annual increase in purchase mortgage cases and 19 per cent more remortgage cases.
Competition for business between lenders meant there were more mortgage products available on average during March – 9,269 – than any month since November 2011. Apart from December 2012, when the average total fell by 1 per cent, consumer choice has improved every month since the Funding for Lending Scheme (FLS) was launched in August 2012.
The average homebuyer in the first quarter of 2013 earned noticeably more than the same time last year, with an average income of £38,660 – £3,372 more than in the first quarter of 2012.
Brian Murphy, head of lending at Mortgage Advice Bureau said, “What we need are greater helpings of funding for people on the fringes of the market, who are either knocked back because of strict criteria or scared off by towering deposits. We are almost halfway through the FLS, but despite the incentive to increase lending, the average borrower is still putting up almost 30 per cent of their property’s value as a deposit.
“Not everyone has this kind of money available, so Help To Buy is definitely needed to open the market up to more would-be homeowners. Interest in house purchases is already far healthier than it was last year, and we are confident there is plenty more to come.”
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