The FCA and the Prudential Regulatory Authority (PRA) both have responsibility for the regulation of mortgage lenders and administrators. We jointly publish the mortgage lending statistics every quarter.
Since the beginning of 2007, around 340 regulated mortgage lenders and administrators have been required to submit a Mortgage Lending and Administration Return (MLAR) each quarter, providing data on their mortgage lending activities.
Key findings
- The outstanding value of all residential mortgage loans was £1,601.2 billion at the end of 2021 Q3, 4.9% higher than a year earlier (Table A).
- The value of gross mortgage advances in 2021 Q3 was £73.4 billion, which was £15.6 billion lower than the previous quarter, but 17.4% higher than the amount seen in 2020 Q3 (Table A and Chart 1).
- The value of new mortgage commitments (lending agreed to be advanced in the coming months) was 8.2% less than the previous quarter but broadly unchanged from a year earlier, at £78.9 billion (Table A and Chart 1).
- The share of gross advances with interest rates less than 2% above Bank Rate was 57.3% in 2021 Q3, 16.9 percentage points (pp) lower than a year ago (Chart 2).
- The share of mortgages advanced in 2021 Q3 with loan to value (LTV) ratios exceeding 90% was 4.2%, 0.6pp higher than a year earlier and a 2.1pp increase compared to the previous quarter (Chart 3).
- The share for house purchase for owner occupation was 58.9%, down 7.6pp on the previous quarter but up 3.1pp from 2020 Q3. The share of gross advances for remortgages for owner occupation was 22.9%, a decrease of 2.1pp since 2020 Q3, but an increase of 6.4pp since 2021 Q2 (Chart 5).
- The value of outstanding balances with some arrears decreased by 3.4% over the quarter to £13.8 billion, and now accounts for 0.86% of outstanding mortgage balances (Chart 6).
Download the data from the charts below - MLAR statistics: detailed tables (Excel)
Table A: Residential loans to individuals flows and balances
Regulated and non-regulated mortgages* - £ billions - Not seasonally adjusted
|
|
Q4 | Q1 |
Q2 |
Q3 |
Q4 |
Q1 |
Q2 |
Q3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
2019 | 2020 |
|
|
|
2021 |
|
|
|
Business flows |
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
|
Gross advances |
73.5 | 65.8 |
44.2 |
62.5 |
76.6 |
83.3 |
89.0 |
73.4 |
|
New commitments |
70.6 | 67.3 |
34.4 |
78.9 |
87.7 |
77.5 |
85.9 |
78.9 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
|
Residential loan amounts outstanding |
|
|
|
|
|
|||
|
Total Regulated and Non-regulated |
1,496.9 | 1,507.7 |
1,514.8 |
1,526.0 |
1,541.5 |
1,561.8 |
1,587.6 |
1,601.2 |
*This data covers regulated mortgage lending, and non-regulated mortgage lending by firms which undertake regulated mortgage lending or administration of regulated mortgages.
Chart
Data table
The value of gross mortgage advances in 2021 Q3 was £73.4 billion, which was £15.6 billion lower than the previous quarter, but 17.4% higher than the amount seen in 2020 Q3 (Table A and Chart 1).
The value of new mortgage commitments (lending agreed to be advanced in the coming months) was 8.2% less than the previous quarter but broadly unchanged from a year earlier, at £78.9 billion (Table A and Chart 1).
Chart
Data table
The share of gross advances with interest rates less than 2% above Bank Rate was 57.3% in 2021 Q3, 1.1pp higher than the previous quarter, but 16.9pp lower than a year ago (Chart 2).
The share of advances with interest rates between 2% and 3% above Bank Rate decreased over the quarter to 27.2% from 29.3%, while the share of advances with interest rates 3% or more above Bank Rate increased by 1.0pp to 15.6% from 2021 Q2.
Chart
Data table
The share of advances with LTV ratios exceeding 90% increased on the quarter, by 2.1pp, to 4.2% in 2021 Q3, the highest observed since 2020 Q2 and 0.6pp higher than a year earlier (Chart 3). Within this, the share of mortgages advanced with LTVs over 95% was 0.3%, broadly unchanged over recent quarters.
The share of mortgages advanced in 2021 Q3 with loan to value (LTV) ratios exceeding 75% increased by 0.5pp on the quarter to 40.3%. This is also 0.7pp higher than a year earlier.
Chart
Data table
The proportion of lending to borrowers with a high loan to income (LTI) ratio decreased by 3.0pp on the quarter to 48.5% in 2021 Q3, but is 0.2pp higher than a year earlier (Chart 4). Borrowers with high LTI are defined here as:
- Borrowers with single income who had a LTI ratio of 4 or above. These loans accounted for 11.2% of gross mortgage lending in 2021 Q3, a 1.2pp decrease compared to the previous quarter.
- Borrowers with a joint income who had a LTI of 3 or above. These loans accounted for 37.2% of gross mortgage lending in 2021 Q3, a 1.8pp decrease compared to the previous quarter.
Chart
Data table
The share of gross mortgage advances for buy-to-let purposes (covering house purchase, remortgage and further advance) was 11.9% in 2021 Q3, a fall of 0.6pp from 2020 Q3 (Chart 5). The share of advances to owner occupiers was 88.1%.
Of the 88.1% of advances for owner occupiers, the share for remortgages was 22.9%, a decrease of 2.1pp since 2020 Q3, but an increase on the previous quarter, for the first time since 2020 Q2, of 6.4pp. The share for house purchase was 58.9%, down 7.6pp on the previous quarter but up 3.1pp from 2020 Q3. Further advances and other mortgages (including lifetime mortgages) accounted for 6.3% of gross advances in total.
Of the 58.9% of advances for house purchases by owner occupiers, lending to first-time buyers was 1.4pp higher than in 2020 Q3, at 24.3% of gross advances, but is 0.5pp lower than 2021 Q2. The share advanced to home movers increased by 1.7pp on a year earlier, to 34.6%, but is 7.2pp lower than 2021 Q2.
Chart
Data table
The value of outstanding balances with arrears (defined as the borrower failing to make contractual payments equivalent to at least 1.5% of the outstanding mortgage balance or where the property is in possession) decreased by 3.4% on the quarter, to £13.8 billion, the lowest it has been since 2020 Q1 (Chart 6).
The proportion of total loan balances with arrears decreased on the quarter from 0.90% to 0.86%.
Copyright
The data on this page is available under the terms of the Open Government Licence.