UK mortgage sales rose by more than 100,000 in 2025 to their highest level since 2021, although activity remained well below pre-financial-crisis levels, figures published today from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) have shown.

There were 717,519 mortgage sales across the UK in 2025, up from 617,295 in 2024, according to the official ONS data, Mortgage statistics, UK: 2025.

Despite the recovery, activity was still 34.5% below the 2006 level. There was a steep drop in mortgage sales after the global financial crisis, before recovering through much of the 2010s, rising during the coronavirus pandemic and then declining in 2022 and 2023.

Regional differences in mortgage activity remained significant. The East Midlands experienced the smallest decline in mortgage sales between 2006 and 2025, with activity around 25.7% below its 2006 level. In contrast, London recorded one of the largest reductions, with mortgage sales falling by 46.5% over the period. Northern Ireland also experienced a substantial decline, with activity around 42% lower than in 2006. Most other regions recorded reductions of between 25% and 35%.

First-time buyers (FTBs) accounted for more than half of all mortgage sales in 2025, at 52.8%, compared with 33.8% in 2006. The number of FTB mortgages rose from 369,596 in 2006 to 379,207 last year, while lending to second and subsequent buyers more than halved from 699,001 to 327,045.

The figures also showed continued affordability pressures. The average loan-to-income (LTI) ratio increased from 3.3 in 2024 to 3.5 in 2025 across all mortgage sales, meaning the average mortgage was equivalent to three-and-a-half times the borrower's income. For FTBs, the ratio increased from 3.5 to 3.6.

The property value-to-income ratio also increased, from 4.4 to 4.5 for all mortgage sales and from 4.2 to 4.3 for FTBs. England recorded the highest ratio among the UK nations at 4.6, followed by Wales at 4.2, Northern Ireland at 3.9 and Scotland at 3.8.

Mortgage loan-to-value (LTV) ratios also increased, with the median for first-time buyers rising from 85.0% in 2024 to 85.6% in 2025, its highest level since before the financial crisis. London recorded the lowest first-time buyer LTV at 80.2%, compared with 89.8% in the North East, the highest of the UK regions.

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