House sales highest since 2007
UK house sales increased last year to the highest levels seen since 2007, the revenue body said, as lenders highlighted evidence that the "shutters are coming up" for mortgage borrowers.There were 932,000 completed transactions last year, marking a 5% increase on 2011, according to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) figures.
Meanwhile, the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) outlined evidence to show why it believes that the "shutters really are coming up" in the mortgage market.
In its latest "news and views" release, the CML said: "Overall, there has been a marked sense of improvement in the mortgage lending landscape over the past year, which we forecast will continue in 2013."
It said that at around 220,000 last year, the number of first-time buyers reached its highest level since the credit crunch started.
It also estimates that the share of first-time buyers getting on the property ladder without needing any extra help from parents has increased in the last couple of years.
The CML said: "We estimate that there has been a slow and steady increase in the proportion of first-time buyers buying without assistance from 32% of all first-time buyers in 2009 to 36% in 2012."
The CML said that it expects mortgage lending to reach £156 billion this year, compared with an estimated £143 billion during 2012.
The HMRC figures showed that the number of sales in 2012 was still almost half the levels seen five years earlier.
However, sales picked up in the final quarter of last year to 237,000 transactions, showing a 4% increase on the previous quarter and a 2% increase on the same period in 2011.
It also estimates that the share of first-time buyers getting on the property ladder without needing any extra help from parents has increased in the last couple of years.
The CML said: "We estimate that there has been a slow and steady increase in the proportion of first-time buyers buying without assistance from 32% of all first-time buyers in 2009 to 36% in 2012."
The CML said that it expects mortgage lending to reach £156 billion this year, compared with an estimated £143 billion during 2012.
The HMRC figures showed that the number of sales in 2012 was still almost half the levels seen five years earlier.
However, sales picked up in the final quarter of last year to 237,000 transactions, showing a 4% increase on the previous quarter and a 2% increase on the same period in 2011.
© 2013 Press Association