There were 28,800 new first-time buyer (FTB) mortgages completed in March 2019, highlighting a 2.4 per cent decrease when compared to March 2018, and the first year-on-year decrease since September 2018.

According to UK Finance’s Mortgage Trends Update March 2019 published today, a decrease in numbers was also experienced by homemovers, with 25,280 new deals completed in the month, six per cent fewer year-on-year.

Despite this, remortgaging activity increased by 9.1 per cent in March when compared to the same period a year earlier, with 16,810 new remortgages with additional borrowing completed. Of those remortgages, the average amount taken out in March was £55,700. Further to this, 15,030 simple pound-for-pound remortgages were completed, with 4.1 per cent more residential remortgage deals completed over March 2018.

The data from UK Finance found that March was the twelfth consecutive month of year-on-year growth in remortgaging, as a number of fixed-rate deals come to an end and borrowers continue to lock into attractive rates.

In the month, 5,000 new buy-to-let home purchase mortgages were completed, further illustrating the decline in the buy-to-let sector. March’s figure is 9.1 per cent lower than that of March 2018. However, buy-to-let remortgaging levels increased by 3.9 per cent, rising to 14,400, marking the second month in a row where buy-to-let remortgaging has increased year-on-year, while buy-to-let house purchase activity continued to contract due to tax and regulatory changes.

Commenting on the figures, Responsible Lending managing director Keith Haggart said: “March was meant to be the month when the Brexit trigger was pulled, and it may have been a significant deterrent for first-time buyers who tiptoed away from the housing market for the first time in six months, despite low interest rates and other incentives.

“The jump in remortgaging chimes with a market that is languishing on low supply of homes for sale. Transactions levels are also near historic lows and sellers appear to have been holding their breath for a while, wondering what the Brexit Gods will deliver.

“If these are early signs that even first-time buyers, with bumper government incentives, are starting to look the other way, then prices may cool more rapidly nationally, even without an EU exit.”

Expanding on Haggart’s comment surrounding Brexit, OneSavings Bank sales director Adrian Moloney said: “Brexit is a drag on housing market activity, and the buy-to-let market is no exception. Political and economic uncertainty is accentuating the structural changes we have seen in the buy to let space, and many landlords are sitting on their hands ahead of making long-term investment decisions.

“Whether more will be tempted into purchase decisions by falling house prices remains to be seen; for committed landlords with capital, falling house prices in London and the South East could provide a buying opportunity, with higher yields, in spite of the uncertain political backdrop. Nonetheless, remortgaging continues to be the key source of activity, as landlords seek to protect their margins in the face of higher taxation and running costs, locking into the financial security of longer-term fixed rates.”

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