April mortgage sales decrease by £2.6bn

Buy-to-let and residential mortgages both also saw decreases in April, falling by 20 and 15% respectively.

April mortgage sales decrease by £2.6bn

Mortgage sales in the UK saw a monthly decrease of 16% in April, research by Equifax Touchstone reveals.

Buy-to-let and residential mortgages both saw decreases, falling by 20 and 15% respectively.

The North and Yorkshire region saw the steepest drop in mortgage sales of 18.5%, followed closely by London and the Home counties, with sales falling by around 17%.

John Driscoll, director at Equifax Touchstone, said: “Mortgage figures have nosedived following a strong first quarter, with every single region experiencing a notable slump in sales.

“Government measures to cool buy-to-let property sales, including the phased cuts to mortgage interest tax relief which started on 1 April, have no doubt played a role in diminishing sales figures last month.”

Mortgage sales for the month of April dropped to a total of £13.74bn.