Buy-to-let and re-mortgage lending activity has seen a fourth consecutive month of growth, latest figures published by UK Finance have shown.

First-time buyers borrowed £5.7bn, 16 per cent more than in July and 12% more than in August 2016. They took out 34,400 mortgages, 14% up on the preceding month and nine per cent more year-on-year.

Home movers borrowed £8.4bn, 18% more than in July and 20% more than in August last year. This equated to 38,500 loans, up 17% on July and 13% on August 2016.

Remortgaging by home owners totalled £6.4bn, 4% less than in July but 8% more than in August 2016. The number of people remortgaging totalled 36,700, down one per cent on July but five per cent higher than a year ago.

Buy-to-let lending totalled £3.1bn, down 3% on July 2017 and the same as in August last year. This equated to 20,400 mortgages, the same as in July but 4% more than in August last year.

UK Finance head of mortgages policy June Deasy said: “Activity picked up in August, and recent resilience ensured that borrowing by home movers was at its highest since March 2016, when transactions were boosted by an imminent increase in stamp duty. Over the last 12 months, the number of people remortaging has been higher than in any period since late 2009. With mortgage rates close to historic lows and the likelihood of a rise in official rates moving closer, the popularity of remortgaging looks set to continue.”

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