The UK housing market continues its run of undersupply in the number of properties available for sale and that is illustrated by the amount of mortgage lending in April. The total for the month was more than 10% off the total from the month prior and settled at just short of £18.5bn. This is more than the same month last year which totaled £17.7bn. Although mortgage lending fell in month on month comparison, first time buyers and remortgagors kept going strong.

According to the Council of Mortgage Lenders, activity of first time buyers surpassed that of home movers for the first time in 11 years. This is unique and paints a clear picture of the state of circumstances facing home movers compared with first timers. First timers are able to take advantage of more opportunities to purchase property than home movers.

Government programmes are quite in favour of first timers compared with home movers which are affecting housing data.

Jeremy Duncombe, director, Legal & General Mortgage Club, commented on the recent data regarding housing, saying: “The fact of the matter is that we need more affordable homes across all tenures, be it for shared ownership, private rental or owner-occupiers. Only when we start to see a rise in the number of new and affordable homes being built, will we see a return to a healthy housing sector that caters for the majority, not the minority. “

Jeremy Leaf, north London estate agent, commented on the current state of the market, saying: “It is disappointing given that we would have expected the market to be kicking on at this time of year in response to seasonal factors.

“The market is making steady rather than spectacular process, probably more influenced by concerns about what the election and Brexit will do to market prospects in the future.”