This came to 19,400 loans in total, up 4% compared to July but down 13% compared to August 2015.
Gross buy-to-let lending remained substantially down on year earlier levels but there were 1,000 more buy-to-let loans in August than in July. Nearly two thirds of buy-to-let loans were remortgages rather than house purchase.
Home-owners borrowed £12.2bn for house purchase, up 14% month-on-month and 11% year-on-year. They took out 66,000 loans, up 13% on July and 9% on August 2015.
First-time buyers borrowed £5.1bn, up 13% on July and 24% on August last year, which equated to 31,800 loans, up 12% month-on-month and 19% year-on-year.
Paul Smee, director general of the CML, commented: "House purchase activity bounced back from a dip in July, reflecting resilience in first-time buyer activity. Mortgage rates remain at or close to historic lows, and the re-pricing of mortgages following August’s base rate cut should help to underpin a continuing, strong appetite for home-ownership over the coming months.
Buy-to-let by contrast continues to operate at lower levels five months after the stamp duty change on second properties. This appears to be a long-term trend, and with lenders potentially tightening affordability checks ahead of the tax changes in April 2017, activity on the buy-to-let house purchase side may well remain at current levels."
Adam Tyler, CEO at the National Association of Commercial Finance Brokers (NACFB), said: “There are mixed signals surrounding buy-to-let. Compared to last year, buy-to-let loan levels remain sharply down - understandably so given the punitive tax changes and volatility around Brexit. But we are beginning to see signs of a slight recovery in demand.
1000 more buy-to-let loans in August than July is not a huge number, especially when you consider that the majority were remortgages, but at the same time it shows landlords and property investors are beginning to regroup.
You sense, and this is definitely the feeling we get from our own brokers around the UK, that property investors have started to adjust to the new stamp duty regime. The slight resurgence in buy-to-let seems to have been borne out by the latest Rightmove data, which also suggests landlords are returning to the market. Without doubt, many landlords have started to withdraw from the sector, but at the same time others are seeing this exodus as an opportunity.
Getting a buy-to-let loan may now be harder, but if your house is in order the rates available are exceptionally low. Landlords also sense that it is a buyer’s market and so are able to negotiate hard on price, thus mitigating the impact of the extra 3% stamp duty.
Only this week the Office for National Statistics revealed that people in the UK see property as the asset class that will deliver the best returns over time. We can only see this attitude continuing, despite the stamp duty changes introduced earlier this year.”
Jonathan Sealey, Hope Capital CEO, says “The picture painted by the figures from the CML this morning is more positive than we might have expected, especially in a month when summer holidays usually play their part in reducing activity. The importance of lender appetite cannot be overlooked and it is fair to say that this appears to be increasing, especially towards first-time-buyers. The availability of 95% LTV products, outside the help-to-buy scheme, is encouraging for the long term growth of this sector. Although the increase in remortgaging has been on the increase, due to low interest rates, it is also good to see more people purchasing again within two months of the referendum.
The next question will be can supply keep up with the renewed appetite in the market? Despite efforts, and government targets, to increase new home building the crux of the matter is that we are still not building enough houses.”
