Hardly a day goes by without some new figures or statistics being published about the UK's housing and mortgage market. Data concerning everything from average house values to mortgage arrears fills newspapers and websites and it can often be confusing to pick out the important news. So, we've put together this easy-to-read snapshot of the UK's mortgage market at the start of November 2012.
How much money is being lent?
According to figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML), gross mortgage lending in the UK September 2012 totalled an estimated £11.6billion. This represents a fall of 10% compared to August's gross lending total of £12.9billion.
Lending has fallen by 15% in the last year from September 2011's total of £13.7billion.
However, mortgage lending did rise in the three months to September 2012 when compared to the previous quarter. Gross lending between July and September was an estimated £37.3billion. This represents an 8% rise from the total gross lending in April to June 2012 (£34.5billion) but a fall of 5% from the same quarter last year (£39.3billion).
What's the average mortgage rate in the UK?
According to Credit Actions' November report, the average mortgage interest rate being charged in the UK at the end of September was 3.36%.
This equates to a monthly repayment of £420 for someone with a £150,000 interest-only mortgage. For a £150,000 repayment mortgage over 25 years, the average monthly repayment is £746.94.
How many mortgages are being taken out?
Figures from the British Bankers Association (BBA) show that there were 31,375 house purchase mortgage approvals in September 2012. This is 6% lower than the same period in 2011.
What's the average mortgage that's being taken out in the UK?
BBA figures show that the average loan approved for house purchase in September 2012 was £155,000. The average first-time buyer loan in August 2012 was estimated at £129,630. First-time buyers put down an average deposit of 19% and borrowed an average of 3.23 times their income.
Credit Action reports that the estimated average mortgage for the 11.2 million households in the UK with mortgage debt stood at £111,881 in September 2012.
Commenting on the figures, Keith Osborne, editor of whathouse.co.uk, says: "Whatever statistics you consider, it's clear that the UK's mortgage market is less robust than it was a year ago. The number of house purchase loans and the amount being lent has fallen in the last 12 months. The good news for borrowers is that the average mortgage rate remains low. And, with the government's Funding for Lending scheme starting to have an effect we may finally be about to see an upturn in the volume and value of new mortgages."
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