Mortgage rates increased at a record pace in 2022, with the 10-year fixed mortgage rate doubling between March 2022 and December 2022. With inflation increasing, the Bank of England introduced several bank rate hikes, resulting in higher mortgage rates. In May 2025, the average 10-year fixed rate interest rate reached **** percent. As borrowing costs get higher, demand for housing is expected to decrease, leading to declining market sentiment and slower house price growth. How have the mortgage hikes affected the market? After surging in 2021, the number of residential properties sold declined in 2023, reaching just above *** million. Despite the number of transactions falling, this figure was higher than the period before the COVID-19 pandemic. The falling transaction volume also impacted mortgage borrowing. Between the first quarter of 2023 and the first quarter of 2024, the value of new mortgage loans fell year-on-year for five straight quarters in a row. How are higher mortgages affecting homebuyers? Homeowners with a mortgage loan usually lock in a fixed rate deal for two to ten years, meaning that after this period runs out, they need to renegotiate the terms of the loan. Many of the mortgages outstanding were taken out during the period of record-low mortgage rates and have since faced notable increases in their monthly repayment. About **** million homeowners are projected to see their deal expire by the end of 2026. About *** million of these loans are projected to experience a monthly payment increase of up to *** British pounds by 2026.

Mortgage interest rates in the UK were on a downward trend for more than a decade before soaring in 2022. In the fourth quarter of 2024, the average weighted interest rate stood at **** percent — nearly ***** times the interest rate in the fourth quarter of 2021. Mortgage rates also vary depending on the type of mortgage: Historically, fixed rate mortgages with a shorter term had on average lower interest rates. What types of mortgages are there? In terms of the type of interest rate, mortgages can be fixed and variable. A fixed interest rate is simply a mortgage where the rate of repayment is fixed, while a variable rate depends on the lender’s underlying variable interest rate. Furthermore, mortgages could be for a house purchase or for refinancing. The vast majority of mortgages in the UK are fixed rate mortgages for house purchase, and only a small share is for remortgaging. How big is the UK mortgage market? The UK has the largest mortgage market in Europe, amounting to nearly ***billion euros in gross residential mortgage lending as of the second quarter of 2023. When comparing the total outstanding residential mortgage lending, the UK also ranks first with about *** trillion euros.

Mortgage lending in the UK declined in 2023, with falling by 33 percent year-on-year in the second quarter of the year. In the second quarter of 2024, the value of new mortgage advances increased annually for the first time since the final quarter of 2024, reaching nearly 60.2 billion British pounds. That indicated an uptick in mortgage demand, possibly due to the much anticipated mortgage interest rate cuts.

The number of first-time buyer mortgage sales, by UK local authority, collected by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

The FCA and the Prudential Regulatory Authority (PRA) both have responsibility for the regulation of mortgage lenders and administrators. They jointly publish the mortgage lending statistics every quarter.

Since the beginning of 2007, around 340 regulated mortgage lenders and administrators have been required to submit a Mortgage Lending and Administration Return (MLAR) each quarter, providing data on their mortgage lending activities.

Latest findings

• The outstanding value of all residential mortgage loans decreased by 0.1% from the previous quarter to £1,657.6 billion, and was 1.1% lower than a year earlier.

• The value of gross mortgage advances decreased by 13.4% from the previous quarter to £54.0 billion, and was 33.8% lower than a year earlier.

• The value of new mortgage commitments (lending agreed to be advanced in the coming months) decreased by 6.6% from the previous quarter to £46.0 billion, and was 21.2% lower than a year earlier. If the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic is excluded, this was the lowest observed since 2013 Q1.

The 10 largest mortgage lenders in the United Kingdom accounted for approximately 81 percent of the total market, with the top three alone accounting for 41 percent in 2023. Lloyds Banking Group had the largest market share of gross mortgage lending, with nearly 36.8 billion British pounds in lending in 2023. HSBC, which is the largest UK bank by total assets, ranked fourth. Development of the mortgage market In 2023, the value of outstanding in mortgage lending to individuals amounted to 1.6 trillion British pounds. Although this figure has continuously increased in the past, the UK mortgage market declined dramatically in 2023, registering the lowest value of mortgage lending since 2015. In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic caused the market to contract for the first time since 2012. The next two years saw mortgage lending soar due to pent-up demand, but as interest rates soared, the housing market cooled, leading to a decrease in new loans of about 100 billion British pounds. The end of low interest rates In 2021, mortgage rates saw some of their lowest levels since recording began by the Bank of England. For a long time, this was particularly good news for first-time homebuyers and those remortgaging their property. Nevertheless, due to the rising inflation, mortgage rates started to rise in the second half of the year, resulting in the 10-year rate doubling in 2022.

Mortgage Approvals in the United Kingdom increased to 63.03 Thousand in May from 60.66 Thousand in April of 2025. This dataset provides the latest reported value for - United Kingdom Mortgage Approvals - plus previous releases, historical high and low, short-term forecast and long-term prediction, economic calendar, survey consensus and news.

In 2023, the largest share of mortgage sales in the UK was remortgage products, followed by first-time buyer sales. Of the total number of mortgage sales that year, remortgage products totaled almost ******* and first-time buyer mortgages, *******. A remortgage is when a new mortgage is taken out for the process of paying off a previous mortgage. In this case, the new property is used as security on the new mortgage.

Mortgage Rate in the United Kingdom decreased to 6.98 percent in June from 7.09 percent in May of 2025. This dataset provides - United Kingdom BBA Mortgage Rate- actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

In 2023, the highest share of mortgage sales in the UK had a loan-to-value ratio between 50 and 70 percent. Across the country, the LTV ratio ranged between 64 percent and 75 percent, depending on the region.

The total value of mortgage repayments in the United Kingdom (UK) picked up in the third quarter of 2023, after falling to one of the lowest values since the (COVID-19) pandemic. Secured loans on dwellings includes all home purchase loans and remortgaging. In the third quarter of 2023, the repayments of secured loans on dwellings in the UK reached a total value of nearly 59.5 billion British pounds.

The FCA and the Prudential Regulatory Authority (PRA) both have responsibility for the regulation of mortgage lenders and administrators. They jointly publish the mortgage lending statistics every quarter.

Since the beginning of 2007, around 340 regulated mortgage lenders and administrators have been required to submit a Mortgage Lending and Administration Return (MLAR) each quarter, providing data on their mortgage lending activities.

Latest findings

• The outstanding value of all residential mortgage loans increased by 0.4% from the previous quarter to £1,660.9 billion, and was 0.3% higher than a year earlier.

• The value of gross mortgage advances increased by 16.7% from the previous quarter to £60.2 billion, the first increase since 2023 Q3, and was 15.5% higher than a year earlier.

• The value of new mortgage commitments (lending agreed to be advanced in the coming months) increased by 11.3% from the previous quarter to £66.9 billion, and was 12.5% greater than a year earlier.

The monthly number of approvals for remortgaging loans to individuals in the UK increased between 2012 and 2020, before plummeting due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In the second half of 2021, remortgaging activity headed for recovery and in October 2022, there were about 50,000 approvals. However, as mortgage interest rates soared, remortgaging fell dramatically, reaching a record low of about 20,000 approvals in October 2023. House purchase mortgage approvals followed a similar trend.

Mortgage brokers’ revenue is anticipated to climb at a compound annual rate of 4.5% over the five years through 2024-25 to £2.3 billion, including estimated growth of . Rising residential property transactions stimulated by government initiatives and rising house prices have driven industry growth. However, mortgage brokers have faced numerous obstacles, including downward pricing pressures from upstream lenders and a sharp downturn in the housing market as rising mortgage rates ramped up the cost of borrowing. After a standstill in residential real estate activity in the immediate aftermath of the COVID-19 outbreak, ultra-low base rates, the release of pent-up demand, the introduction of tax incentives and buyers reassessing their living situation fuelled a V-shaped recovery in the housing market. This meant new mortgage approvals for house purchases boomed going into 2021-22, ramping up demand for brokerage services. 2022-23 was a year rife with economic headwinds, from rising interest rates to fears of a looming recession. Yet, the housing market stood its ground, with brokers continuing to benefit from rising prices. Elevated mortgage rates eventually hit demand for houses in the first half of 2023, contributing to lacklustre house price growth in 2023-24, hurting revenue, despite a modest recovery in the second half of the year as mortgage rates came down. In 2024-25, lower mortgage rates and an improving economic outlook support house prices, driving revenue growth. Mortgage brokers’ revenue is anticipated to swell at a compound annual rate of 5.3% over the five years through 2029-30 to £2.9 billion. Competition from direct lending will ramp up. Yet, growth opportunities remain. The emergence of niche mortgage products, like those targeting retired individuals and contractors, as well as green mortgages, will support revenue growth in the coming years. AI is also set to transform the industry, improving cost efficiencies by automating tasks like document verification, risk assessment and customer profiling.

The mortgage term length on about ** percent of new mortgage lending in the UK was 30 to 35 years in September 2023. That includes first-time buyers, repeat buyers, and remortgages. Mortgages with a term of over 35 years were the least common. Nevertheless, they gained increased popularity between 2022 and 2023, rising from *** percent to **** percent of new lending. Longer terms imply lower monthly principal repayments. Nevertheless, they result in a higher interest payment over the life of the mortgage.

In 2023, the number of mortgage sales in the UK stood at over 888,000. Of these, the vast majority were taken out by individuals without an impaired credit history. Additionally, the majority of these mortgage loans were taken out via an intermediary.

The first-time buyer average mortgage increased across all regions in the United Kingdom in 2023. London had the largest average mortgage size at over ******* British pounds. This was because it was also the region with the most expensive hosing.