The latest Q1 mortgage statistics revealed the value of gross advances in Q1 was £83.3 billion – this was 26.5% higher than the same quarter in 2020, and the highest level since 2007 Q4.

At the same time, the value of new mortgage commitments – the lending agreed to be advanced in the following months – was 15% higher than in Q1 2020 at £77.5 billion.

What’s more the data also showed the outstanding value of all residential mortgage loans was £1,561.8 billion at the end of Q1 – this was 3.6 % higher than a year earlier.

These figures, released in the BoE’s Mortgage Lenders and Administrators Statistics report, refer to the period of time leading up to the original Stamp Duty Holiday deadline of 31 March.

It also details the market before the return of 95% loan-to-value (LTV) mortgages. As such the figures revealed the share of mortgages advanced in 2021 Q1 with LTV ratios of more than 90% were just 1.1% – this was 4.1% lower than a year earlier, and the lowest level since these statistics began in 2007.

‘Frenzied activity’

Paul Stockwell, chief commercial officer at Gatehouse Bank, said: “Buyers’ insatiable appetite to move home has meant the value of new mortgages started the year at highs not seen since before the 2008/09 financial crash.

“There has been frenzied activity in the market with movers searching for larger homes and more outdoor space, while the extension of the stamp duty discount to the end of June added more fuel to the fire in the first quarter of this year.

“The biggest stamp duty savings run out in just a few weeks’ time, yet measures from other housing indices suggest the frantic competition for property continues unabated.

“While lending may fall from these current highs, we still expect it to be an incredibly busy summer for the housing market.”