Mortgage Commitments Rise Despite Weaker Lending Volumes in Q1 2026

New mortgage commitments rose in the first quarter of 2026, despite weaker lending volumes according to Bank of England data. The value of new mortgage commitments increased by 11.5% on the previous quarter to £78 billion and was 14.2% higher than a year earlier.

The Bank's Mortgage Lenders and Administrators Statistics also showed that while completed transactions remained subdued, demand for mortgages was improving. However, the value of gross mortgage advances fell by 12.3% quarter-on-quarter to £69.6 billion and was 10.2% lower than the same period in 2025.

The outstanding value of all residential mortgage loans increased by 0.7% over the quarter to £1.746 trillion, with a share of gross advances for owner-occupier remortgages rising to 28.1%. Buy-to-let activity also strengthened, with the proportion of gross advances for buy-to-let purposes increasing to 8.9%.

Richard Pike from Phoebus Software attributed the market's steady start to increased confidence in Q1 before the Iran conflict, and noted that remortgaging would remain a defining feature throughout the year due to households adapting to higher interest rates. Rob Clifford from Stonebridge Mortgage and Protection Network warned against viewing quarterly movements as representative of the overall market, citing distortions caused by last year's stamp duty changes.