Mortgage Lenders and Administrators Statistics - 2024 Q4

The Mortgage Lenders and Administrators Return (MLAR) is a quarterly statistical release aggregated from data on mortgage lending activities provided by around 340 regulated mortgage lenders and administrators.
Published on 11 March 2025

Key findings

  • The outstanding value of all residential mortgage loans increased by 0.5% from the previous quarter to £1,678.2 billion, the highest stock of outstanding mortgage loans since reporting began in 2007, and was 1.3% higher than a year earlier (Table A).1
  • The value of gross mortgage advances increased by 4.9% from the previous quarter to £68.8 billion, the highest new advances since 2022 Q4, and was 29.9% higher than a year earlier (Table A and Chart 1).
  • The value of new mortgage commitments (lending agreed to be advanced in the coming months) increased by 4.9% from the previous quarter to £69.3 billion, the highest since 2022 Q3, and was 50.7% higher than a year earlier (Table A and Chart 1).
  • The proportion of lending to borrowers with a high loan to income (LTI) ratio increased by 0.5 pp from the previous quarter to 45.8%, the highest since 2022 Q4, and was 3.1pp higher than a year earlier (Chart 4).
  • The share of gross mortgage advances for house purchase for owner occupation decreased by 0.8pp from the previous quarter to 63.7%, but was 3.9pp higher than a year earlier (Chart 5).
  • The share of gross advances for remortgages for owner occupation increased by 0.7pp from the previous quarter to 23.5%, but was 4.8pp lower than a year earlier (Chart 5).
  • The share of lending to first time buyers increased by 0.3pp from the previous quarter to 29.6%, the highest share since reporting began in 2007, and was 1.9pp higher than a year earlier (Chart 5).
  • New arrears cases (as a proportion of total outstanding balances with arrears) increased by 2.3pp from the previous quarter to 12.0%, but remained 1.5pp lower than a year earlier.
  • The value of outstanding mortgage balances with arrears increased by 1.3% from the previous quarter to £22.1 billion, and was 8.4% higher than a year earlier (Chart 6). The proportion of the total mortgage loan balances with arrears, relative to all outstanding mortgage balances, has stayed the same as the previous quarter at 1.3%, and was 0.1pp higher than a year earlier.

Table A: Residential loans to individuals, flows and balances

Regulated and non-regulated mortgages*

£ billions

Not seasonally adjusted

Q1

Q2

Q3

Q4

Q1

Q2

Q3

 Q4

2023

2024

  

Flows

  

Gross advances

58.6

52.1

61.4

52.9

51.6

60.2

65.5

 68.8

New commitments

45.8

59.5

49.2

46.0

60.1

66.9

66.0

 69.3
 

Amounts outstanding

1,676.0

1,656.6

1,657.4

1,656.3

1,655.2

1,661.3

1,670.9

 1,678.2
  • 1Table 1.11 sub table A row 9
  • *This data covers regulated mortgage lending, and non-regulated mortgage lending by firms which undertake regulated mortgage lending or administration of regulated mortgages.

Graphical analysis:

The value of gross mortgage advances increased by 4.9% from the previous quarter to £68.8 billion, the highest new advances since 2022 Q4, and was 29.9% higher than a year earlier (Table A and Chart 1).2

The value of new mortgage commitments (lending agreed to be advanced in the coming months) also increased by 4.9% from the previous quarter to £69.3 billion, the highest since 2022 Q3, and was 50.7% higher than a year earlier (Table A and Chart 1).3

  • 2 Table 1.21 sub table C row 1
  • 3 Table 1.21 sub table C row 3

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  • The share of gross mortgage advances with interest rates less than 2% above Bank Rate (including at or below Bank Rate) decreased by 0.2pp from the previous quarter to 96.4%, but remained 0.8pp higher than a year earlier. This stability reflects the decrease in mortgage interest rates across the quarter in line with the 25bp decrease in Bank Rate (Chart 2).4
  • The share of advances with interest rates between 2% and up to 3% above Bank Rate increased by 0.3pp from the previous quarter to 1.7%, but remained 0.2pp lower than a year earlier. The share of advances with interest rates 3% or more above Bank Rate decreased by 0.1pp from the previous quarter to 1.9%, and was 0.6pp lower than a year earlier.5,6
  • 4 Table 1.22 sub table C row 3 (less than 2% above)
  • 5 Table 1.22 sub table C row 4 (2.00% to 2.99% above)
  • 6 Table 1.22 sub table C row 5 + row 6 (3% or more above)

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  • The share of gross mortgage advances with loan-to-value (LTV) ratios exceeding 90% decreased by 0.3pp from the previous quarter to 6.3%, but remained 0.8pp higher than a year earlier (Chart 3).7
  • Within this, the share of mortgages advanced with LTVs over 95% decreased by 0.1pp from the previous quarter to 0.3%, and was 0.1pp lower than a year earlier.8
  • The share of gross mortgage advances with loan-to-value (LTV) ratios exceeding 75% decreased by 0.5pp from the previous quarter to 44.1%, but remained 4.0pp higher than a year earlier.9
  • 7 Table 1.31 sub table C row 19 + row 20
  • 8 Table 1.31 sub table C row 20
  • 9 Calculated as 100% of all mortgages less those <= 75% LTV (Table 1.31 sub table C row 21 - row 17)

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  • The proportion of lending to borrowers with a high loan to income (LTI) ratio increased by 0.5pp from the previous quarter to 45.8%, and was 3.1pp higher than a year earlier (Chart 4).10 Borrowers with high LTI are defined here as:

– Borrowers with single income who had a LTI ratio of 4 or above. This increased by 0.5pp from the previous quarter to 10.1%, and was 1.4pp higher than a year earlier.11

– Borrowers with a joint income who had a LTI ratio of 3 or above. This stayed the same as the previous quarter at 35.8%, but is 1.7pp higher than a year earlier.12

  • 10 Table 1.31 sub table C row 5 + row 13
  • 11 Table 1.31 sub table C row 5
  • 12 Table 1.31 sub table C row 13
  • a The ‘Other’ category is used when the loan assessment is based, only partly or not at all, on one or more persons’ incomes. Further details can be found in the FCA Handbook.

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  • The share of gross mortgage advances for buy-to-let purposes increased by 0.3pp from the previous quarter to 8.2%, and was 1.2pp higher than a year earlier (Chart 5). The share of advances to owner occupiers was 91.8%.13,14
  • Of the 91.8% of advances for owner occupiers, the share of gross advances for remortgages for owner occupation increased by 0.7pp from the previous quarter to 23.5%, but remained 4.8pp lower than a year earlier. The share of gross mortgage advances for house purchase for owner occupation decreased by 0.8pp from the previous quarter to 63.7%, but remained 3.9pp higher than a year earlier. Further advances and other mortgages (including lifetime mortgages) decreased by 0.3pp from the previous quarter to 4.6%, and was 0.2pp lower than a year earlier.15,16,17
  • Of the 63.7% of advances for house purchases by owner occupiers, lending to first time buyers increased by 0.3pp from the previous quarter to 29.6%, the highest share since reporting began in 2007, and was 1.9pp higher than a year earlier. The share advanced to home movers decreased by 1.0pp from the previous quarter to 34.1%, but remained 2.0pp higher than a year earlier.18,19
  • 13 Table 1.33 sub table C row 4 (buy-to-let)
  • 14 Calculated as 100% of all mortgages less those for buy-to-let purposes (100% - Table 1.33 sub table C row 4) (owner-occupation)
  • 15 Table 1.33 sub table C row 6 (remortgage)
  • 16 Table 1.33 sub table C row 2 + row 3 (house purchase owner occupation)
  • 17 Table 1.33 sub table C row 5 + row 9 (further advance and other)
  • 18 Table 1.33 sub table C row 2 (first-time buyers)
  • 19 Table 1.33 sub table C row 3 (home movers)

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  • New arrears cases (as a proportion of total outstanding balances with arrears) increased by 2.3pp from the previous quarter to 12.0%, but remained 1.5pp lower than a year earlier.20 Arrears are defined as the borrower failing to make contractual payments where the balance owed is equivalent to at least 1.5% of the outstanding mortgage balance or where the property is in possession.
  • The value of outstanding mortgage balances with arrears increased by 1.3% from the previous quarter to £22.1 billion, and was 8.4% higher than a year earlier (Chart 6).21
  • Of the £22.1 billion of outstanding mortgage balances with arrears, non-regulated mortgages (including buy-to-let loans and other residential lending to individuals where the property is not for use by the borrower or qualifying dependents) decreased by 3.0% from the previous quarter to £4.9 billion, but remained 4.1% higher than a year earlier (Chart 6).22
  • The proportion of the total mortgage loan balances with arrears, relative to all outstanding mortgage balances, has stayed the same as the previous quarter at 1.3%, and was 0.1pp higher than a year earlier.
  • The number of new possessions in 2024 Q4 decreased by 0.8% from the previous quarter to 2,057, but remained 41.0% higher than a year earlier. 24
  • The total stock of possessions increased by 4.7% from the previous quarter to 7,302, and was 39.5% higher than a year earlier. 25
  • 20 Table 1.7 sub table C row 4
  • 21 Table 1.7 sub table C row 10
  • 22 Table 1.7 sub table B row 10
  • 23 Table 1.7 sub table C row 11
  • 24 Table 1.7 sub table C row 29
  • 25 Table 1.7 sub table C row 31

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Queries

If you have any comments or queries about this release please email mlar@bankofengland.co.uk.

Next release date: 10 June 2025

More information

Long run versions of the summary and detailed tables are now available in Excel format, for data going back to Q1 2007. These have been sourced from data published by the FSA on their archive pages prior to Q1 2013 and data published by the Bank of England from Q1 2013.

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