- UK gross mortgage advances rose 11.1% in Q2 2026 to £77.4 bn, up 31.7% year-on-year.
- Lending above 90% LTV reached 8.4% of gross advances, the highest share since Q2 2008.
- Mortgage arrears fell 1.9% to £19.7 bn, while owner-occupier remortgaging rose to 31.2% of gross advances.
Gross mortgage advances in the UK increased 11.1% during the second quarter of 2026 to £77.4 bn, according to the latest Mortgage Lenders and Administrators Statistics. Lending was 31.7% higher than in the same quarter of 2025.
The figures are based on returns from around 340 regulated mortgage lenders and administrators. Outstanding residential mortgage balances rose 0.8% from the previous quarter to £1.76 tn, up 3.1% year-on-year.
New mortgage commitments, which cover lending agreed for advancement in coming months, increased 1.4% during the quarter to £79.2 bn. Commitments were 1.3% above their level a year earlier.
Higher loan-to-value lending continued to increase. Mortgages issued above 90% LTV accounted for 8.4% of gross advances, up 0.4 percentage points during the quarter and 1.4 percentage points from a year earlier. That was the highest proportion recorded since the second quarter of 2008. The increase indicates a greater share of new lending is being written with smaller borrower deposits.
Around 94.5% of gross advances were issued at interest rates less than two percentage points above Bank Rate. The proportion fell 0.2 percentage points during the quarter and reached its lowest level since the first quarter of 2023.
- Owner-occupier remortgaging represented 31.2% of gross advances. Its share rose 3.1 percentage points quarter-on-quarter and 2.2 percentage points from a year earlier, reaching the highest level since the first quarter of 2024.
- Owner-occupied house purchases moved in the opposite direction. Their share of gross advances declined 1.6 percentage points to 56.1%, although it remained slightly above the level recorded a year earlier.
Buy-to-let lending accounted for 8.0% of advances during the quarter. That was down 0.9 percentage points from the first quarter and 1.2 percentage points year-on-year, marking its lowest share since the third quarter of 2024.
Mortgage arrears continued to decline. The value of outstanding balances in arrears fell 1.9% during the quarter to £19.7 bn, the lowest total since the third quarter of 2023.
Balances in arrears were 7.3% below their level a year earlier. Arrears remained equal to 1.1% of total outstanding mortgage balances, unchanged during the quarter and 0.1 percentage points lower year-on-year.
The figures showed continued mortgage activity despite economic uncertainty. The relatively modest increase in new commitments compared with gross advances suggests refinancing is accounting for a substantial part of current lending.
Many borrowers are reaching the end of existing fixed-rate mortgage periods and arranging replacement deals. This appears to be supporting activity more than a broad increase in new mortgage borrowing.
The continued decline in arrears and possessions. The figures suggest most households are still meeting mortgage payments despite affordability pressures and wider economic challenges.
Lenders will need to accommodate increasingly varied borrower circumstances. Refinancing flexibility and support for customers under financial pressure to remain important areas for mortgage providers.
