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 mortgages loans was £1,499 billion at end-2019 Q4, 3.8% higher than a year earlier (Table A).
- The value of gross mortgage advances was £73.4 billion, broadly unchanged in comparison to 2018 Q4 (Table A and Chart 1).
- The value of new mortgage commitments (lending agreed to be advanced in the coming months) was 4.0% higher than a year earlier, at £70.6 billion (Table A and Chart 1).
- The share of gross advances with interest rates less than 2% above Bank Rate was 85.3%, a 1.4 percentage point (pp) increase in comparison to a year ago. This is the highest share since 2008 Q3. (Chart 2).
- The share of mortgages advanced in 2019 Q4 with loan to value (LTV) ratios exceeding 90% reached 5.7%, 1.4pp higher than a year earlier (Chart 3).
- The share of gross mortgage lending for buy-to-let purposes (covering house purchase, remortgage and further advance) was 12.4%, consistent with 2018 Q4 (Chart 5).
- The value of outstanding balances with some arrears fell by 2.1% over the quarter to £13.4 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)
Chart tips: hover over data series to view the data values and filter the data categories by clicking on the legend.
Table A: Residential loans to individuals flows and balances
Regulated and non-regulated mortgages* - £ billions - Not seasonally adjusted
| Q3 | Q4 | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 2019 | |||||
| Business flows | ||||||
| Gross advances | 73.5 | 72.9 | 63.4 | 66.1 | 73.3 | 73.4 |
| New commitments | 73.0 | 67.9 | 63.7 | 73.4 | 73.8 | 70.6 |
| Residential loan amounts outstanding | ||||||
| Total Regulated and Non-regulated | 1,420.2 | 1,443.5 | 1,452.1 | 1,466.6 | 1,485.5 | 1,499.1 |
*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 was £73.4 billion in 2019 Q4, broadly unchanged in comparison to 2018 Q4 (Table A and Chart 1).
- The value of new mortgage commitments (lending agreed to be advanced in the coming months) was 4.0% higher than a year earlier, at £70.6 billion.
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Data table
- The distribution of interest rates relative to Bank Rate for gross mortgage advances has remained broadly unchanged since 2018 Q4 (Chart 2).
- The share of mortgages advanced with interest rates 3% or more above Bank Rate has decreased further to 5.0%, and continues to be at its lowest since 2008 Q3.
- The share of advances with interest rates over 2%, but less than 3%, above Bank Rate has decreased to 9.7%, and the share of advances with interest rates less than 2% above Bank Rate increased by 1.2 pp since the previous quarter, to 85.3%.
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Data table
- The share of mortgages advanced in Q4 with loan to value ratios (LTV) ratios exceeding 75% decreased marginally on the quarter to 40.5%, but remains 2.8pp higher than a year earlier (Chart 3).
- The share of gross mortgage lending in Q4 with LTV ratios exceeding 90% also decreased marginally on the quarter, to 5.7%.
- The share of mortgages advanced with LTVs over 95% was 0.3%, 0.1pp higher than the same period in the previous year.
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Data table
The proportion of lending to borrowers with a high loan to income (LTI) ratio fell by 0.6pp on the quarter to 46.6% (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 11.3% of gross mortgage lending in Q4 2019, 0.5pp more than in the previous quarter.
- Borrowers with a joint income who had a LTI of 3 or above. These loans accounted for 35.3% of gross mortgage lending in Q4 2019, a 1.2pp decrease compared to the previous quarter.
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Data table
- The share of gross mortgage advances for buy-to-let purposes (covering house purchase, remortgage and further advance) was 12.4% in Q4 2019 (Chart 5), which is broadly unchanged from the level seen in 2018 Q4. The share of advances to owner occupiers was 87.6%.
- Of the 87.6% of advances for owner occupation, the share for remortgages was 29.2%, a decrease of 1.9pp since 2018 Q4. The share for house purchase was 52.1%, 1.1pp higher than 2018 Q4. Further advances and other mortgages (including lifetime mortgages) accounted for 6.3% of gross advances combined.
- Of the 52.1% of advances for house purchases by owner occupiers, lending to first-time buyers was 0.2pp higher than in 2018 Q4, at 21.5% of gross advances. The share advanced to home movers was 1.0pp higher than a year earlier, at 30.7%.
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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) fell by 2.1% on the quarter, to £13.4 billion (Chart 6).
- The proportion of total loan balances with arrears has continued to decline on the quarter, reaching 0.89%. This is lowest value since the series began in Q1 2007.