Building societies take mortgage market share - BSA
Lending and savings figures for the building society sector for the three months to September 2018 (Q3) were released today.
Released today, lending and savings figures for the building society sector for the three months to September 2018 (Q3) show that:
- Building societies approved 31% of all new mortgages in Q3 - 126,209 and up 10% on Q3 2017.
- Building societies approved 31% of all first-time mortgages in Q3 – 30,000. First-time buyer numbers are flat compared to Q3 2017.
- Savings balances rose by £3.8 billion, a 39% market share and nearly three times the inflow in Q3 2017.
Overall, building societies accounted for 33% of the growth in the mortgage market in Q3 2018 with net lending of £3.9 billion. Over the 10 years since the financial crisis net lending from building societies stands at £105.4 billion, 47% of the total across the whole market (£224.3 billion).
Commenting Paul Broadhead, BSA Head of Mortgage and Housing Policy said:
“Brexit-related uncertainty is having a growing negative effect on home-buying and mortgage activity. Re-mortgaging remains the only part of the market that is growing and many buy-to-let borrowers are re-financing. Especially for those with small buy-to-let portfolios, the implication of the tax changes will only really be felt as they complete their next tax return. First-time buyers are still active, but numbers are subdued and it’s unlikely that this part of the market will pick-up substantially in the short-term.
“Competition is heating up for retail funding and savings rates are likely to rise moderately over the coming year. This may encourage people to save a little more, whether to improve their resilience in uncertain times or to spend in the future. Next April the increase in personal tax allowances will give some additional headroom for many.”
