There was a pick-up in activity for home movers, landlords and borrowers remortgaging to release additional equity in December, the latest figures from UK Finance reveal.

The figures also show a marginal uplift in lending to first-time buyers.

The number of loans to remortgage borrowers rose who were sought additional borrowing rose by 5.9 per cent to 16,820 in December compared to a year earlier.

Like-for-like remortgages were 0.5 per cent fewer than a year earlier at 16,490.

The total value of remortgages with additional equity withdrawn increased by 8.9 per cent to £3.2bn, while the value of pound-for-pound remortgages rose by 3.8 per cent to £3bn.

Lending to home movers was 3.2 per cent higher year on year, with 29,400 mortgages completed in December.

By value, lending to home movers was 9.9 per cent higher than a year ago at £6.8bn.

The number of mortgages for landlords purchasing properties increased by 3.6 per cent to 5,700 in December, while buy-to-let remortgages were up by 2.3 per cent annually to 13,300.

By value, landlord remortgaging rose by 4.8 per cent to £2.2bn, while landlord purchasing was flat at £0.8bn.

The number of loans to first-time buyers rose by 0.5 per cent year on year to 29,490, and by value first-time buyer lending was up by 4.7 per cent at £5.1bn.

Legal & General Mortgage Club director Kevin Roberts says: “This is certainly a strong end to the year for the mortgage market amidst the uncertainty that we saw in the lead up to the UK’s General Election.

“Advisers are continuing to help thousands of borrowers with their housing plans and at Legal & General Mortgage Club, we had a strong end to the year with a busy December.

“Now, with a reduction in political uncertainty after the election, we expect to see an uplift in activity as buyers who postponed their housing plans press ahead in the opening months of 2020. 

“These borrowers are taking advantage of the current low-interest rate environment to find great deals on their mortgage.”

Keystone Property Finance chief executive David Whittaker says: “The buy-to-let sector has been buoyed in recent months, with falling rates and growing competition between lenders showing no signs of abating.

“However, increasing regulation in the market means some landlords and tenants are beginning to feel the strain.

“Changing tax relief rules, updated legislation on energy efficiency standards and a range of additional regulatory policy changes coming into effect in 2020 means buy-to-let investors are increasingly diversifying their portfolios and looking for lenders who have a flexible approach.”