“The figures released today by the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) are extremely encouraging for the UK housing market in the year ahead.
“The increase in activity appears to have been primarily driven by first-time buyers, who account for more than two in every five house purchase loans (41%): much higher than in recent years. Affordability for first-time buyers remained reasonably stable in November, with the median loan-to-value (LTV) ratio staying at 80%, and we expect to see this improve in the months ahead as incentivised lending prompts more competitive products aimed at this sector of the market.
“To see the number of loans to first-time buyers up by almost a quarter (24%) on November 2011 will help to silence the sceptical about the potential for improving access to the property ladder. Together with a 6% annual increase in loans to home movers, it is a strong indication that the market is growing, and this is clearly helping to restore public confidence. We have every reason to expect this to continue and the market to recover further over the coming year.”