Overall purchase approvals rise while lending to small-deposit borrowers remains static

Overall house purchase approvals rose to 70,511 in November, making it the highest monthly total seen since August this year, while lending to small-deposit borrowers saw no improvement, new research shows.

In spite of a 1.3% rise in overall approvals of house purchases from October 2015 to November 2015, data from the latest e.surv survey shows there was no rise in lending to small-deposit borrowers.

Lending to buyers with a deposit worth 15% or less of their property’s total value totaled just 11,493 this November, seeing no real improvement on October’s 11,489 approvals.

Small deposit borrowers accounted for just 16.3% of approvals granted in November, down from 16.5% in October indicating that this sector of borrowers is falling as a proportion of overall house purchase lending.

Research into first-time buyer sales, from Your Move and Reeds Rains, supports this trend. First-time buyer sales have dipped by 1.7% month-on-month from 28,600 in September 2015 to 28,100 in October 2015.

The proposals announced in the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement are hoped to address the decline in sales to first-time buyers.

David Plumtree, Group Chief Executive of Connells Estate Agency said:

“With half of the new affordable housing planned to be starter homes and another third planned to be shared ownership, prospective home buyers will be able to choose from a range of options to suit them. This will make buying a first home more accessible to everyone and encourage prospective first time buyers to take the plunge.

“The Government’s plans should also affect the general housing market in a positive way – by building more homes and creating more stock, home movers should benefit from a more even playing field.

“We hope that these changes will boost confidence within the property market and particularly for first time buyers whose dreams of owning a home might now be within reach.”

11th December 2015