Mortgage Lenders and Administrators Statistics: 2022 Q4

Key findings

• The outstanding value of all residential mortgage loans was £1,675.8bn at the end of 2022 Q4, 3.9% higher than a year earlier (Table A). ^footnote[1]
• The value of gross mortgage advances in 2022 Q4 was £81.6bn, which was £4.3bn lower than the previous quarter, but 16.3% higher than in 2021 Q4 (Table A and Chart 1).
• The value of new mortgage commitments (lending agreed to be advanced in the coming months) in 2022 Q4 was 33.5% less than the previous quarter and 24.5% less than a year earlier, at £58.4bn. If the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic and period immediately thereafter is excluded, this was the lowest observed since 2015 Q1 (Table A and Chart 1).
• The share of gross mortgage advances with interest rates less than 2% above Bank Rate was 93.6% in 2022 Q4, 22.0 percentage points (pp) higher than a year ago and the highest seen since 2008 Q2 (Chart 2).
• The share of gross mortgage advances in 2022 Q4 with loan to value (LTV) ratios exceeding 90% was 5.1%, 0.9pp higher than a year earlier and the highest observed since 2020 Q1 (Chart 3).
• The proportion of lending to borrowers with a high loan to income (LTI) ratio decreased by 2.2pp on the quarter to 49.3% in 2022 Q4, the lowest seen since 2021 Q3 (Chart 4).
• The share for house purchase for owner occupation was 55.4%, down 0.8pp on the previous quarter, but up 2.3pp from 2021 Q4. The share of gross advances for remortgages for owner occupation was 27.3%, a decrease of 0.8pp since 2021 Q4, but an increase of 2.4pp since 2022 Q3 (Chart 5).
• The value of outstanding balances with arrears increased for the first time since 2021 Q1, by 4.6% over the quarter and 1.3% over the year, to £13.6 billion in 2022 Q4. This now accounts for 0.81% of outstanding mortgage balances, but remains close to the historical low of 0.78% in 2022 Q3 (Chart 6).

Table A: Residential loans to individuals, flows and balances

Regulated and non-regulated mortgages *

£ billions

Not seasonally adjusted