Mortgage lending hits five year high

10th December 2025 Consumer Lending | #mortgage lending

Latest Bank of England figures show that mortgage lending recorded its strongest quarterly jump in five years in the third quarter of 2025, with gross advances rising 36.9% to £80.4 billion. The increase marks the sharpest quarterly gain since 2020 amid a renewed surge in the UK property market. The data showed that the outstanding…

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Mortgage lending returns to growth

4th December 2025 Consumer Lending | #mortgage lending

UK Finance has released its latest Household Finance Review, which showed that mortgage lending activity returned to growth in Quarter 3 (Q3), following a quieter second quarter caused by many transactions having been brought forward ahead of Stamp Duty changes in April. Refinancing also increased, with volumes up nearly 50 per cent year‑on‑year as more…

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Mortgage borrowing falls to £4.3bn in October

Latest Bank of England data has shown that mortgage debt fell back to £4.3 billion in October, after a rise to £5.2 billion in September.. The data shows that gross lending slightly decreased in October, to £24.5bn from £24.8bn, with gross repayments increasing by £1.5 billion to £22.1 billion in October. Net mortgage approvals for…

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Later life mortgage lending rises by 18.4%

28th November 2025 Consumer Lending | #later life lending

New data from UK Finance has found that later life loans rose 18.4 per cent with 39,950 loans taken out in Quarter 3 (Q3). The value of lending was £6.5 billion, which was up 24.7 per cent compared with the same quarter a year previously. There were 6,040 new lifetime mortgages advanced in Q3, up…

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Paragon Bank appoints Head of Mortgage Operations

21st November 2025 Consumer Lending |

Paragon Bank has announced that it has strengthened its mortgages division with the appointment of Simon Glass as Head of Mortgage Operations. Glass will head up Paragon Bank’s operations team with a focus on delivering good customer outcomes, reporting into Mortgage Lending Director, Lisa Steele. He leads Paragon’s buy-to-let underwriting, completions and customer relationship teams…

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Interest rates stay at 4% – consumer credit reaction

7th November 2025 Consumer Lending | #interest rates

The Bank of England has held the base rate at 4% which affects a wide range of consumer loan agreements from credit card to mortgage payments. Commenting on the MPC’s decision not to change the Bank Rate from 4%, Andrew Gall, Head of Savings and Economics at the Building Societies Association (BSA) said “Many aspiring homebuyers…

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Coalition of businesses and charities demand home ownership reform for millions of renters

A coalition of businesses and charities have outlined a series of demands for urgent reform to unlock home ownership for millions of renters. Following a summit in London on 29th October, the group have sent a joint letter to the Chancellor ahead of the Autumn Budget, urging reforms that would ensure renters’ payment history is…

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Affordability gap between Housing Allowance and local rents set to reach record levels next year

29th October 2025 Consumer Lending | #affordability

Rapid rent increases since the Local Housing Allowance (LHA) has been frozen mean the gap between the support low-income private tenants receive and the 30th percentile of local rents is already at 14 per cent (£104 a month for a typical two-bedroom property). This affordability gap is expected to reach a record 17 per cent…

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Buy-to-let lending remains stable

Latest buy-to-let lending by UK Finance for Quarter 2 (Q2) has found that there were 49,590 new buy-to-let loans advanced in the UK, worth £8.8 billion. This was relatively flat compared with the same quarter in the previous year, down 2.6 per cent by number (0.2 per cent by value). The average gross buy-to-let rental…

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Second charge mortgages increased by 10% in August

15th October 2025 Consumer Lending | #mortgages

New figures released by the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) show that second charge mortgage new business volumes grew by 10% in August 2025. Commenting on the latest new business figures for the second charge mortgage market, Fiona Hoyle, Director of Consumer & Mortgage Finance and Inclusion at the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA), said…

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Consumer finance grew by 2% in August

15th October 2025 Consumer Lending | #consumer credit

New figures released by the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) show that consumer finance new business grew in August 2025 by 2% compared with the same month in 2024.  In the eight months to August 2025, new business in this market was 4% higher than in the same period in 2024. The credit card and…

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Owning cheaper than renting in most major cities 

13th October 2025 Consumer Lending | #mortgages#rent

Buying a home could be cheaper than renting in most major UK cities, according to Lloyds Bank analysis. The data shows that first-time buyers can save an average of £225 monthly by purchasing a home instead of renting. Their analysis shows that mortgage payments are typically 17% cheaper than rental costs in most major UK cities outside…

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Mortgage borrowing fell in August

Latest Bank of England data showed that net borrowing of mortgage debt fell by £200 million month-on-month to £4.3 billion in August. This came after a £900m decrease to £4.5bn in July. Mortgage approvals fell last month as uncertainty hit one of the key indicators in the property market. Mortgage approvals for house purchases decreased…

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