UK Net Mortgage Borrowing Hits One-Year High
2026-05-01 09:29
By
Joana Ferreira
1 min. read
Net mortgage borrowing by UK individuals rose to £6.15 billion in March 2026, up from a revised £5.22 billion in February and exceeding market expectations of £4.2 billion.
This marked the highest level in a year, surpassing the six-month average of £4.9 billion, as borrowing costs continued to decline.
The annual growth rate for net mortgage lending eased to 3.0% in March from 3.4% in February.
Secured gross lending increased to £28.7 billion, up from £24.0 billion in February and above the six-month average of £23.9 billion.
Repayments also rose to £19.7 billion in March from £18.6 billion in February, slightly below the six-month average of £19.8 billion.
The effective interest rate on newly drawn mortgages fell to 4.03% in March from 4.10% in February, while the rate on the outstanding stock of mortgages edged down to 3.93% from 3.95%.