Welsh mortgage borrowing up by a quarter in Q2

Home buyers in the principalityborrowed £1.1bn for house purchases as they took out 8,100 loans, up 23% compared to the previous quarter and 14% on the second quarter 2016.

Welsh mortgage borrowing up by a quarter in Q2

Borrowing for purchase in Wales was up 26% quarter-on-quarter and 19% year-on-year in the second quarter of 2017, according to figures fromUK Finance.

Home buyers in the principalityborrowed £1.1bn for house purchases as they took out 8,100 loans, up 23% compared to the previous quarter and 14% on the second quarter 2016.

Borrowing by first-time buyers took out loans totaling £490m, up 26% on the first quarter and 17% on the second quarter last year.

Julie Ann Haines, chair, UK Finance Wales Mortgage Committee, said: "It is very positive to see growth among both first-time buyers and home movers, making this the strongest second quarter for home buying activity in Wales since 2007. Affordability continues to be better in Wales than the UK overall, and with attractive mortgage rates and a wide range of choice in the market currently; we expect this level of activity to continue going forward."

First-time buyer affordability in Wales remained positive in the second quarter when compared to the UK overall. First-time buyers typically borrowed £109,300 (£137,700 in the UK overall), up from £106,200. The average household income was £34,100 (£40,800 in the UK overall), up from £33,000. The typical income multiple in Wales of 3.31 (unchanged from the previous quarter) also compared favourably to the UK average of 3.58.