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 £1,584.1 billion at the end of 2021 Q2, 4.6% higher than a year earlier (Table A).
- The value of gross mortgage advances in 2021 Q2 was £89.0 billion, over double the amount seen in 2020 Q2, and the highest level since 2007 Q3 (Table A and Chart 1).
- The value of new mortgage commitments (lending agreed to be advanced in the coming months) was almost 2.5 times greater than a year earlier, at £85.6 billion, but £2.1 billion lower than the recent peak seen in 2020 Q4 (Table A and Chart 1).
- The share of gross advances with interest rates less than 2% above Bank Rate was 56.6% in 2021 Q2, 16.7 percentage points (pp) lower than a year ago (Chart 2).
- The share of mortgages advanced in 2021 Q2 with loan to value (LTV) ratios exceeding 90% was 2.0%, 2.8pp lower than a year earlier but a slight increase compared to the previous quarter (Chart 3).
- The share for house purchase for owner occupation was 66.4%, up 24.9pp from 2020 Q2. The share of gross advances for remortgages for owner occupation was 16.6%, a decrease of 21.3pp since 2020 Q2, and the lowest since these statistics began in 2007 (Chart 5).
- The value of outstanding balances with some arrears decreased by 6.3% over the quarter to £14.1 billion, and now accounts for 0.89% of outstanding mortgage balances (Chart 6).
Download the data from the charts below - MLAR statistics: detailed tables[1] (Excel)
Table A: Residential loans to individuals flows and balances
Regulated and non-regulated mortgages* - £ billions - Not seasonally adjusted
| Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Q1 | Q2 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 2021 | |||||
| Business flows | ||||||
| Gross advances | 65.8 | 44.1 | 62.5 | 76.6 | 83.8 | 89.0 |
| New commitments | 67.3 | 34.4 | 78.9 | 87.7 | 77.5 | 85.6 |
| Residential loan amounts outstanding | ||||||
| Total Regulated and Non-regulated | 1,507.7 | 1,513.8 | 1,526.0 | 1,541.4 | 1,561.8 | 1,584.1 |
*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 Q2 was £89.0 billion, just over double the amount seen in 2020 Q2, and the highest level since 2007 Q3 (Table A and Chart 1).
The value of new mortgage commitments (lending agreed to be advanced in the coming months) was almost 2.5 times greater than a year earlier, at £85.6 billion, but £2.1 billion lower than the recent peak seen in 2020 Q4 (Table A and Chart 1).
Chart
Data table
The share of gross advances with interest rates less than 2% above Bank Rate was 56.6% in 2021 Q2, 2.6pp lower than last quarter, 16.7pp lower than a year ago, and the lowest since 2016 Q4 (Chart 2).
The share of advances with interest rates between 2% and 3% above Bank Rate slightly increased over the quarter to 29.1% from 29.0%, and the share of advances with interest rates 3% or more above Bank Rate increased by 2.5pp to 14.4% from 2021 Q1.
Chart
Data table
The share of advances with LTV ratios exceeding 90% increased on the quarter, by 0.9pp, to 2.0%. This is 2.8pp lower than a year earlier but the highest value since 2020 Q3 (Chart 3). Within this, the share of mortgages advanced with LTVs over 95% was 0.2%, broadly unchanged over the recent quarters.
The share of mortgages advanced in Q2 with loan to value (LTV) ratios exceeding 75% increased on the quarter to 39.6%. This is also 3.2pp higher than a year earlier.
Chart
Data table
The proportion of lending to borrowers with a high loan to income (LTI) ratio increased by 1.9pp on the quarter to 51.4%, and is 8.3pp 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 12.4% of gross mortgage lending in 2021 Q2, a 1.0pp increase compared to the previous quarter.
- Borrowers with a joint income who had a LTI of 3 or above. These loans accounted for 39.0% of gross mortgage lending in 2021 Q2, a 0.9pp increase 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 11.3% in 2021 Q2, a fall of 3.1pp from 2020 Q2 (Chart 5). The share of advances to owner occupiers was 88.7%.
Of the 88.7% of advances for owner occupiers, the share for remortgages was 16.6%, a decrease of 21.3pp since 2020 Q2 and the lowest level since these statistics began in 2007. The share for house purchase was 66.4%, up 24.9pp from 2020 Q2 . Further advances and other mortgages (including lifetime mortgages) accounted for 5.7% of gross advances in total.
Of the 66.4% of advances for house purchases by owner occupiers, lending to first-time buyers was 6.5pp higher than in 2020 Q2, at 24.7% of gross advances, and is 2.8pp higher than 2021 Q1. The share advanced to home movers increased by 18.3pp on a year earlier, to 41.7%, but is 0.5pp lower than 2021 Q1.
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 6.3% on the quarter, to £14.1 billion. This is the lowest since 2020 Q2 (Chart 6).
The proportion of total loan balances with arrears decreased on the quarter from 0.96% to 0.89%.
Copyright
The data on this page is available under the terms of the Open Government Licence[2].