Mortgage sales rise by 24% in February

Mortgage sales for the UK jumped to £14.1 billion in February, up 23.6% on the previous month. Residential sales stood at £11.8 billion and buy-to-let sales at £2.3 billion, according to Equifax Touchstone analysis of the intermediary marketplace.

North Yorkshire led the way for the highest regional mortgage sales growth in February with a 27.9% increase compared to January, while Scotland and the Midlands followed behind with notable growth of 26.8% and 25.4% respectively. The North East saw the lowest growth with 16.2%. 

Regional area	Total mortgage sales growth
North and Yorkshire	+27.9%
Scotland	+26.8%
Midlands	+25.4%
London	+24.2%
North West	+22.1%
South East	+22.0%
Home Counties	+21.6%
Northern Ireland	+21.2%
Wales	+20.9%
South Coast	+19.9%
South West	+19.9%
North East	+16.2%

John Driscoll, Director at Equifax Touchstone, said: “Following a volatile end to 2016 the mortgage market saw a vast increase in sales last month in every region across the UK. As the UK moves towards triggering Article 50 we will watch with great anticipation to see how the market responds, and whether there will be a noticeable impact on mortgage sales.”

The data from Equifax Touchstone, which covers the majority of the intermediated lending market, shows that the average value of a residential mortgage in February was £193,078 (2016: £191,757) and £152,239 for buy-to-let (2016: £155,678).