More mortgage completions were made by First Time Buyers during September than by home movers according to new data from UK Finance.

The data shows that there were 50 more new first-time buyer mortgage completions in the month compared to home mover mortgages completed (29,100 versus 29,050), which themselves were increases of 1.6% and 1.8% respectively compared to the September 2018.

Although the difference between first-time buyer and home mover mortgage completions was small, historically home mover mortgages have outnumbered first-time buyers. According to Moneyfacts.co.uk in 2015, there were 33,800 home mover residential mortgages compared to just 26,800 first-time buyers – a difference of 7,000.

There could be a number of reasons for the growth in first-time buyers.  With the housing marketing stagnating – particularly in the South East, buying a first property has become more affordable for many.

Also, new buyers have been able to take advantage of a number of Government schemes aimed at first-time buyers, such as the Help to Buy equity loan scheme. It should also be noted that mortgage lenders have been competitive with their rates this year, allowing first-time buyers to benefit from lower rates and repayments.  You can see the current best mortgage rates here.

Although there are now more First Time buyers than home movers and the growth in homemover mortgages has slowed, data from UK Finance shows that remortgages are on the rise. September 2019, saw remortgages both with and without additional borrowing increase by 8% and 5.9% respectively.

The same month also saw remortgage approval rates increase by 23% year on year.

Data from the same source also revealed that the average additional amount borrowed in September was £50,000.  This lends weight to the suggestion that more homeowners are looking to improve their current home rather than moving to a different property.