There were 30,620 new first-time buyer mortgages completed in November 2019, reflecting a 10.5% drop from the same month in 2018, new UK Finance data has revealed.

According to UK Finance's latest Mortgage Trends Update, there were 30,750 homemover mortgages completed in November 2019, 10.6% fewer than in the same month a year earlier. UK Finance suggested the movement reflected particularly strong home-purchase activity during November 2018.

The data revealed there were also 18,610 new remortgages with additional borrowing in November 2019 – a figure 5.7% more than in the same month in 2018.

The CEO of conveyancing solutions provider LMS, Nick Chadbourne, said: “The continuation of low interest rates and competitive products from lenders ensured 2019 ended with a stable remortgage market.

“It will be interesting to see if the balance will shift one way or another moving into the first quarter of 2020. All eyes are on the upcoming base rate decision. It will be interesting to see how lenders and borrowers react if there is a cut, as has been hinted at by prominent policymakers, given that it has been a while since rates last fell.”

For the remortgages, the UK Finance data also showed the average additional amount borrowed in November was £51,470. There were 18,470 new pound-for-pound remortgages – those with no additional borrowing – in November 2019, and this also reflected a drop from November 2018, of 12.4%.

Hope Capital CEO, Jonathan Sealey, added: “Despite the rafts of mortgage deals available towards the end of last year it appears, from the drop in new mortgages and the increase in remortgages, that many people were feeling cautious about moving or buying whilst the country was in a period of political turmoil.

“Now that we have a stable majority in government, and hopefully we can see an end to the shenanigans surrounding Brexit, we should also see a degree of confidence return.”

Phoebus Software sales and marketing director, Richard Pike, suggested it was ‘hardly surprising’ that the figures for new mortgages were down on 2018, because of a flurry of activity before the Brexit deadline.

The UK Finance figures also revealed there were 6,300 new buy-to-let home purchase mortgages completed in November 2019, which was a 4.5% drop from the same time last year.

“The fact that remortgages with additional borrowing increased shows that perhaps people were more inclined to make more of what they have rather than move,” Pike said.

“Of course, one other factor that has nothing to do with politics or uncertainty is stamp duty. This is still a major sticking point and one that many will be hoping is tackled by any housing strategy the government comes up with. Now that the Budget date has been announced, we won’t have long to wait to find out.”

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