Intermediary mortgage sales "disappoint" again

Mortgage sales through intermediaries have disappointed for the second consecutive month, new figures show.

Total mortgage sales have fallen by 8.4% last month from October, a value decrease of £1.3 billion, according to new figures from Equifax Touchstone.

Residential mortgage sales took the biggest tumble, dropping by 10.2%.

Buy-to-let sales fell 2.6% to £3.5 billion.

Sales in every regional area in the UK were down with the North West hardest hit, seeing a 13.7% decrease in sales.

London reported the smallest drop of 5.5%.

Yet residential sales are up 26.9% on November 2014, a rise of £2.2 billion.

And buy-to-let sales rose a staggering 42.8%, an increase of £1 billion.

The data from Equifax Touchstone, which covers 92% of the intermediated lending market, shows the average value of a residential mortgage in November was £186,166, up from £173,070 year-on-yar.

The average mortgage was £162,065 for buy-to-let, up from £146,810.

Iain Hill, relationship manager, Equifax Touchstone, said that despite softening market demand 2015 has been a very good year, with the market significantly ahead of 2014. “Looking forward, there has been much speculation about where the market will go in 2016, and the current volatility does not make planning any easier.”