House purchase loans in the U.K. fell by more than three times the decline in remortgages in January, data released by the Council of Mortgage Lenders suggested Friday.
There were 49% fewer house purchase loans in January than in December but only 15% fewer remortgage loans, the CML said. However, the 32,000 loans for house purchase, worth GBP 4.7 billion, were up from the low of 23,000 seen in January 2009. Conversely, the 24,000 loans for remortgage, worth GBP 3 billion, were down from 45,000 a year ago. This is the lowest monthly level of remortgage activity - both by number and value - in eight years of available data.
"It was a quiet start to the year. Lending volumes in January were low, but we had predicted this would happen due to the end of the stamp duty holiday distorting December's figures," CML Director General Michael Coogan said.
He noted that the CML expects lending over the coming months to remain weak as uncertainty over of the state of the economy and the upcoming election are likely to continue to hold back housing market activity.
The CML said first-time buyers recorded the largest drop among house purchasers, with a 54% month-on-month drop in January. There were 11,300 first-time buyer loans, worth GBP 1.3 billion in the month. It was down from 24,800 in December, but still up from 8,600 in January last year.
The number of first-time buyer transactions for properties in the GBP 125,000-175,000 band fell by 80% in January. It follows a 63% rise in December. Compared to a year earlier, the number of first-time buyer loans in this category was down 22%.
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June 05, 2026 16:18 ET A busy week for economic news flow saw a slew of reports being released that reflected the trends in the U.S. labor market. In Europe, economic growth and inflation data gained attention as the European Central Bank and Bank of England head for policy session later in the month. In Asia, the monetary policy session of the Indian central bank was in focus as the country, a major oil importer, reels under the pressures of a weaker rupee and rising inflation.