Remortgage lending failed to gain a boost in demand in the month of February, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML).  Despite the low interest rates being offered on remortgage deals there is still a low demand from homeowners.  In mortgage lending for purchases there was an increase in demand with a boost from first time buyers seeking to climb onto the property ladder.

In an annual comparison, remortgage lending data revealed a decline of 30% compared to February of last year.  There was also a decline from the January remortgage lending level by 13.3%.  February resulted in 19,500 advanced remortgages worth a value of £2.6 billion.

First time home buyers accounted for an increase of 3.1% over January totals.  There were 16,400 loans advanced to first time property buyers in February. The annual comparison to February 2012 showed a 17.1% increase over the 14,000 advanced last year.  Of the total of all mortgages for home purchases first time buyers accounted for 43%.  February marked the sixth successive month that first time buyers have accounted for over a third of all house purchase loans.

Paul Smee, director of CML, remarked on the data saying “First-time buyers are continuing to take advantage of more favourable market conditions, helping to drive the underlying trend for resilient house purchase lending.

“We hope that the new initiatives announced by the Government in the 2013 Budget will further stimulate first-time buyer activity but also help those second steppers looking to move into a new or existing home.”