Figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) show that house purchases were boosted by buyers rushing to beat the end of the stamp duty holiday in December.
The number of loans to
first time buyers in the last month of 2009 was at its highest in two years, with the biggest band of home purchases being between £125,000 and £175,000.
Demand was so high, with a total of 24,900 loans given to
first time buyers resulting in a 26 per cent rise from November, that the CML predict that lending will be slow for the first months of 2010.
The total amount of lending to
first time buyers for December is calculated at £2.9 billion by the CML.
First time buyer loans accounted for around 198,000 of 517,000 home purchase loans made in 2009 – a positive increase from 194,000 in 2008.
Paul Samter, economist at the CML commented on the findings: "The market certainly improved over the second half of last year and started 2010 in better shape than most would have predicted 12 months ago.
"We remain in a period of uncertainty for the housing market and economy at large."
See Also: Property News (6699)
Date Published: 19 February 2010
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