House purchase lending in Scotland rose by more than the UK as a whole in the second quarter of 2011, according to new data from the Council of Mortgage Lenders.
Around 11,300 loans for house purchase, worth £1.3 billion, were taken out in the second quarter of 2011 in Scotland, a rise of 36% in number and 42% in value from the first quarter. The UK as a whole experienced an increase of 26% in volume and 25% in value. Despite this, the proportion of house purchase loans in Scotland stayed static at 9% of the UK total, unchanged since the end of 2010.
The number of loans to first-time buyers rose from 3,300 (worth £280 million) in the first quarter to 4,300 (worth £384 million) in the second. This was a larger increase at 30% by volume and 37% by value than the increase experienced by first-time buyers UK-wide. Home mover lending also increased by more in Scotland. Around 7,000 loans (worth £905 million) were advanced to home movers in Scotland compared to 5,100 loans (worth £628 million) in the first quarter.
Scottish first-time buyers typically borrowed 79% of their property’s value in the second quarter, up from 77% in the previous quarter. This is now closer to, although still below, the average of 80% in the UK as a whole. First-time buyers also took out loans on average 2.9 times their income, up from 2.84 in the first quarter but below the 3.19 seen UK-wide.