Home movers completing mortgages in London have reduced by -3.7% as homeowners wait to see the outcome of Brexit uncertainty.

Research from UK Finance shows the number of home movers in London completing mortgages are 5,980 in the first quarter of 2019 reducing by -3.7% compared to the same period last year of 6,210.

Across the country home mover mortgages completed for March 2019 were 25,280 lower by -6.0% compared to 26,900 for the same period in 2018.

Homeowners may be reluctant to trade up to a more expensive property due to the uncertainty of Brexit and decided to wait before making a commitment.

First time buyers increase in London

The number of first time buyer mortgages have increased in London by 1.6% from 9,210 for the first quarter last year to 9,410 in 2019.

The strength of this market is driven by very large deposits averaging 34.4% of the purchase amount of £431,746 attracting competitive mortgage interest rates from lenders with a loan to value (LTV) of 65.6%.

First time buyers are aged 33 borrowing on average £283,226 with income to loan multiples of 3.79 and the monthly repayment is 17.8% of household income.

This is not replicated across the country as completed mortgages is 28,800 down by -2.4% over the year to March 2019 and the first time it has decreased for the year since September 2018.

For home movers in London the average mortgage size is £410,273 with a loan to value of 64.3% indicating a purchase price of £638,060.

The average age of these second steppers is 39 bringing equity from their current home is £227,787 and an affordable income to loan multiples of 3.79 with monthly repayment is 17.9% of household income.

Remortgage buyers lower in the capital

In the capital remortgage buyers experienced strong growth during the first quarter of 2018 with 14,360 completed mortgages which have reduced by -1.3% to 14,170.

Remortgage buyers in London average borrowing was £306,493 with a loan to value of 51.9% indicating a property value of £590,545.

The average age of these homeowners is 42 with property equity of £284,052, income to loan multiples are 3.11 with monthly repayment is 16.7% of household income.

In the UK the number of buy-to-let landlord remortgages completed was 14,400 for March 2019 increasing 3.9% compared to this month last year.

The number of new purchases for buy-to-let investors was 5,000 decreasing -9.1% compared to a year ago due to the changes to stamp duty and taxation allowance on mortgage interest, making it less attractive to buy.

For older homeowners there is significantly higher activity with equity release mortgage buyers in London accessing cash in their property to gift to a family member or pay university fees for grandchildren.

What are your next steps?

Speak to our LCM mortgage advisers if you are planning to move home, buying your first home, remortgaging your existing home to a new cost effective mortgage deal or are a buy-to-let investor.

Learn more by using the mortgage cost calculators, equity release mortgage calculator and property value tracker chart. Start with a free mortgage quote or call us and we can take your details.

For equity release buyers our London City Mortgage brokers can recommend lifetime mortgages allowing you to receive cash from your property to help maintain your standard of living as costs rise.