Commentary on Mortgage lending statistics Q1 2026

The value of gross mortgage advances decreased by 12.3% from the previous quarter to £69.6 billion, and was 10.2% lower than a year earlier (Table A and Chart 1).

The value of new mortgage commitments (lending agreed to be advanced in the coming months) increased by 11.5% from the previous quarter to £78.0 billion, and was 14.2% higher than a year earlier.

The share of gross mortgage advances with interest rates less than 2% above Bank Rate (including at or below Bank Rate) decreased by 0.2pp from the previous quarter to 94.7%, the lowest since 2023 Q1, and was 1.9pp lower than a year earlier (Chart 2).

The share of advances with interest rates between 2% and up to 3% above Bank Rate increased by 0.1pp from the previous quarter to 3.0%, the highest since 2023 Q1, and was 1.0pp higher than a year earlier.

The share of advances with interest rates 3% or more above Bank Rate has stayed the same as the previous quarter at 2.4%, and was 0.9pp higher than a year earlier.

The share of gross mortgage advances with LTV ratios exceeding 90% decreased by 0.3pp from the previous quarter to 8.0%, the first decrease in share since 2024 Q4, but remained 1.4pp higher than a year earlier (Chart 3).

Within this, the share of mortgages advanced with LTVs over 95% has stayed the same as the previous quarter at 0.5%, and was 0.3pp higher than a year earlier.

The share of gross mortgage advances with LTV ratios exceeding 75% decreased by 1.0pp from the previous quarter to 45.9%, but remained 0.2pp higher than a year earlier.

Note on Chart 4: Gross advances by income multiple: The ‘Other’ category is used when the loan assessment is based, only partly or not at all, on one or more persons’ incomes. Further details can be found in the FCA Handbook[2].

The proportion of lending to borrowers with a high loan-to-income (LTI) ratio decreased by 1.3pp from the previous quarter to 45.1%. This was at similar levels to a year earlier (Chart 4). Borrowers with high LTI ratios are defined here as:

• Borrowers with a single income and an LTI ratio of 4 or above. This proportion increased by 0.3pp from the previous quarter to 12.1%, the highest since 2021 Q2, and was 1.3pp higher than a year earlier.
• Borrowers with a joint income and an LTI ratio of 3 or above. This proportion decreased by 1.6pp from the previous quarter to 33.0%, and was 1.4pp lower than a year earlier.

The share of gross mortgage advances for buy-to-let purposes (covering house purchase, remortgage and further advance) increased by 0.5pp from the previous quarter to 8.9%, and was 0.8pp higher than a year earlier (Chart 5). The share of advances to owner occupiers was 91.1%.

Of the 91.1% of advances for owner occupiers, the share of gross advances for remortgages for owner occupation increased by 2.7pp from the previous quarter to 28.1%, and was 6.8pp higher than a year earlier. The share of gross mortgage advances for house purchase for owner occupation decreased by 3.9pp from the previous quarter to 57.7%, and was 8.6pp lower than a year earlier. Further advances and advances for other mortgages (including lifetime mortgages) increased by 0.8pp from the previous quarter to 5.3%, and was 1.0pp higher than a year earlier.

Of the 57.7% of advances for house purchases by owner occupiers, lending to first-time buyers decreased by 1.2pp from the previous quarter to 27.4%, and was 3.9pp lower than a year earlier. The share advanced to home movers decreased by 2.7pp from the previous quarter to 30.3%, and was 4.6pp lower than a year earlier.

The value of outstanding mortgage balances with arrears decreased by 1.7% from the previous quarter to £20.1 billion, the lowest since 2023 Q3, and was 6.3% lower than a year earlier (Chart 6). Arrears are defined as the borrower failing to make contractual payments where the balance owed is equivalent to at least 1.5% of the outstanding mortgage balance or where the property is in possession.

Of the £20.1 billion of outstanding mortgage balances with arrears, the value of non-regulated mortgages (including buy-to-let loans and other residential lending to individuals where the property is not for use by the borrower or qualifying dependents) decreased by 4.1% from the previous quarter to £4.4 billion, the lowest since 2023 Q3, and was 11.9% lower than a year earlier.

The proportion of the total mortgage loan balances with arrears, relative to all outstanding mortgage balances, has stayed broadly consistent from the previous quarter at 1.1%, and was 0.1pp lower than a year earlier.

The proportion of total outstanding balances with arrears that are new arrears cases decreased by 0.1pp from the previous quarter to 9.3%, but remained 0.1pp higher than a year earlier.

The number of new possessions in 2026 Q1 increased by 1.6% from the previous quarter to 2,216, but remained 4.3% lower than a year earlier.

The total stock of possessions decreased by 0.8% from the previous quarter to 9,247, the first decrease since 2021 Q1, but remained 20.6% higher than a year earlier.