Figures show December mortgage borrowing recovery

February 8, 2025 by Brendan O'Neill

Mortgage Advisors

The latest set of figures to be released show the final month of last year brought a recovery in mortgage borrowing numbers, suggesting that the market is bouncing back.

These figures are provided by the Bank of England (BoE) and reveal a rise of £1 billion in mortgage borrowing throughout the month. That brought the net total for December to £3.6 billion and stands in sharp contrast to the situation for November. During that month, mortgage borrowing went down by £0.9 billion. It provides some indication of a bounce back within the market.

There was also continued growth in net lending throughout December. This hit 1.5% for the month, whereas in November it was 1.3%. Unlike borrowing, the lending figures have been growing consistently since last spring. They have risen every month since April of last year.

December brought an increase in net approvals too, which went up by 500. That meant the total number of purchase mortgages approved was 66,500. Again, this was a turnaround from November, where net approvals fell by 2,300. It is significant because it tells us what future borrowing figures will look like.

Mark Hollands of Bluestone Mortgages said to Mortgage Introducer that:

“It’s encouraging to see the mortgage market end 2024 on a high, despite the usual Christmas market slowdown. As 2025 gets underway, we hope to see demand continue to climb as consumers look to get ahead of the incoming Stamp Duty changes.”

All mortgage advisors who have done CeMAP courses will also be pleased by these figures.