Question reference: S3W-01830
- Asked by: Aileen Campbell, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
- Date lodged: 2 July 2007
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Current status: Answered by Stewart Maxwell on 19 July 2007
Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many new mortgages were taken out in Scotland in each of the last five years.
Answer
Estimates of the number of loansissued for house purchase in Scotland are set out in the following table. These data are sourcedfrom the Council of Mortgage Lenders. The notes to the tables explain the coverageof the estimates and the reasons for a possible break in comparability between 2004and 2005, at which point the Regulated Mortgage Survey replaced the Survey of MortgageLenders.
| Year | Number of Loans Issued for House Purchase - Scotland |
| 2002 | 126,700 |
| 2003 | 129,800 |
| 2004 | 124,400 |
Source: Survey of Mortgage Lenders(SML).
| Year | Number of Loans Issued for House Purchase - Scotland |
| 2005 | 102,900 |
| 2006 | 104,200 |
Source: Regulated Mortgage Survey(RMS).
Notes:
1. The estimates include loans to home-movers taking outa loan to secure house purchase and loans to first-time buyers (including thoseexercising the right to buy their social rented property). The estimates excludecash purchases and remortgaging activity. The estimates also exclude buy-to-letpurchases and second-charge mortgages, as these transactions are not regulated bythe Financial Services Authority.
2. Data to April 2005 is basedon the Survey of Mortgage Lenders (SML), grossed from a UK sample generallybelow 50% of all mortgage transactions. Data from April 2005 is drawn from the RegulatedMortgage Survey, which contains transaction-level data on approximately 85% of allnew regulated mortgages issued in Scotland. RMS data is based on statutory Financial Service Authorityreturns.
3. There is a significant dropfrom 2004 to 2005, both in terms of the volume of loans issued in Scotland, andthe proportion of the UK total comprised by Scottish loans. CML indicates thismay be due in part to a small number of lenders over-reporting Scottish data underthe previous SML regime.
3. Internal analysis indicatesthat the grossed figures for 2005-06 are likely to be accurate to around 4%.