Concerns Raised Over Fall In Home Mover Lending

Concerns have been raised over a fall in the amount of loans home movers have borrowed in Scotland.

New figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) reveals home movers borrowed £1 billion in the first three months of 2017, down 19% quarter-on-quarter and 6% compared to last year.

This totals 6,700 loans, down 19% quarter-on-quarter and 8% compared to the same quarter in 2016.

Carol Anderson, CML Scotland chair, said the decline in home mover activity is not unexpected due to a surge in activity last year to avoid the changes in Land and Buildings Transaction Tax.


"But we expect home buying activity to gain momentum into the summer months," she said.

However, Chief Executive of Homes for Scotland Nicola Barclay said the organisation is concerned over the fall for home mover lending "which raises concerns given the need for a healthy housing market across all segments".

"This would appear to underline our concerns regarding the impact of the Land & Buildings Transaction Tax with feedback from our members continuing to suggest that potential buyers of homes in higher bands are deferring the decision to move because of the additional sums payable compared to the old Stamp Duty system," she said.

"We will continue to monitor this market activity and share any ongoing concerns with the Scottish Government."

(LM)