First-time buyer mortgages accounted for 43% of all approved mortgage loans during the month of February, according to the Nationwide Building Society.
The mutual’s latest House Price Index revealed that the proportion of new mortgages advanced to first-time buyers in February was the highest seen in the index’s eight-year history.
The sole exception was March 2012, when buyers hurried to exploit the final month of a temporary break on stamp duty.
Recent Bank of England figures showed a dip in mortgage approvals for February, after exceeding 55,000 in December. But they improved by 3% in March, to 53,504 (read more).
The Nationwide Index said that overall mortgage approval levels had averaged just over 53,000 per month between January and March, compared to an average of 51,000 in 2012.
House prices declined slightly by 0.1% in April, it said, but the annual rate of growth remains positive, with prices 0.9% higher than this time last year.
Robert Gardner, chief economist at Nationwide Building Society, said the figures showed that activity and prices had started to gain momentum in 2013.
“The number of mortgage approvals has edged up from the levels prevailing last year and there are reasons for optimism that activity levels will continue to strengthen in the months ahead,” he said.
The Funding for Lending Scheme, which has driven mortgage rates to record lows, should continue to provide support in lowering the cost of credit for prospective homeowners, he added, though he stressed that progress was “likely to be gradual.”
Keith McDonald
Which4U Editor
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