Mortgage market activity set to climb

Mortgage market activity set to climb as homebuyers spring into action

The latest market analysis by specialist property lending experts, Octane Capital, suggest that the UK property market could be set to see a flurry of activity, as buyers spring into action following the winter months, driving an increase in mortgage lending that could last right through to autumn.

Octane Capital analysed historic mortgage lending figures and how they differ across each seasonal period of the year.

The figures show that over the last two years, a total of £144.9bn has been lent during the winter months, equating to an average of £72.5bn.

However, as the temperature starts to creep up, so too does the total sum of lending seen across the mortgage sector. Over the last two years, a total of £148bn has been lent during the spring months and while a 2.1% increase versus the winter months may not seem that significant, it equates to over £3bn more in mortgage lending, averaging just shy of £74bn per year.

This uplift in mortgage lending continues into the summer, with mortgage lending increasing by a notable 11.4% between the spring and summer seasons, before cooling by -0.7% between summer and Autumn.

But while the summer months may see the highest level of mortgage lending, it’s the spring season when the market is seeing the strongest growth in lending activity.

Over the last two years, the total sum lent during the spring months has increased at an average annual rate of 28.4%. This is not only a considerably stronger rate of growth than both the winter (3.6%) and autumn (9.5%) months, but it has also out-paced the summer months with lending up by an average of 23.4% per year.

CEO of Octane Capital, Jonathan Samuels, commented:

“With the exception of the initial Covid year when the industry was first placed into lockdown, the spring season traditionally marks a noticeable increase in mortgage market activity and we expect this year to be no different.

In fact, while the summer months tend to see a higher total sum lent, it’s the spring months that are seeing the largest increase in lending levels in terms of the year on year appetite shown by the nation’s homebuyers.

So while we’ve already seen a strong start to the year, all things considered, there’s a very good chance that come the summer, the current dip in mortgage market performance will be firmly behind us.”