2022 first quarter numbers higher than the previous three months
Mortgage lending in the first three months of this year was on a par with lending in the same period last year, when the Stamp Duty holiday was in operation, according to the figures released by the Building Societies Association on Wednesday.
Both lending and approvals were higher in January to March 2022 than they were in October to December 2021, immediately after Stamp Duty was reimposed.
Gross lending in Q1 2022 was £17.9 billion, on a par with Q1 2021’s £18.0 billion, and 11.7% above the £16.1 billion lending in Q4 2021.
During the first quarter of this year, building societies approved 111,697 mortgage loans, down 6% on the 119,216 approved in Q1 2021, and up on the 102,542 mortgage loans approved in Q4 2021.
Building societies hold outstanding mortgage balances of £358 billion, up 4% on Q1 2021 (£343 billion), a steady 23% share of the total mortgage market.
They also lent to 25,208 first-time buyers in Q1 2022, broadly on par with the 25,735 mortgage loans in the same period of the previous year.
“The housing market was vibrant between January and March this year, despite rising house prices and the re-imposition of Stamp Duty,” Robin Fieth, chief executive at the Building Societies Association, said.
“The fact that building societies lent as much during this period as they did during Q1 2021 with no Stamp Duty payable is testament to their presence and competitiveness in a busy market.”
Fieth added that the limited number of properties being put up for sale, coupled with the rising cost of living, is likely to result in a more subdued housing market as the year progresses.
“With over 80% of existing mortgages on fixed rates, this won’t apply to the remortgage market which we expect to remain active,” he noted.
