UK Mortgages Market Report 2026
Mortgage lending continued its resurgence in 2025, with gross mortgage lending rising by 20.2% in 2025 to £290.8 billion.
Trusted by leading global brands
Collapse All
-
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
- What you need to know
- Outlook for Mortgages
- Opportunities
- Accelerate access to homeownership
- Differentiate through mortgage journey integration
- Reframe affordability by promoting flexible aspects of mortgages
-
THE MARKET
- Snapshot – mortgages market size and forecast
- Interest rate cuts and easing inflation aid mortgage lending in 2025
- Graph 1: gross mortgage lending to individuals, 2019-25
- Mortgage accessibility improves, driving lending growth, but affordability challenges remain
- Rising house prices and market reform will fuel mortgage lending growth
- Graph 2: market forecast for gross mortgage lending, 2019-30
- Unresolved conflicts threaten to stifle growth in mortgage lending
- Mortgage lending for home purchases hits four-year high
- Graph 3: segmentation of gross mortgage lending, % of total gross mortgage lending, 2019-25
- Greater mortgage approvals and higher costs lead to growth in remortgaging lending
- Graph 4: monthly number of approvals to individuals, by purpose, 2019-26
- Market drivers
- Renewed inflationary pressures compound affordability concerns
- Graph 5: annual CPI and CPIH rates, 2021-26
- Property transactions impacted by rising costs and mortgage rates
- Mortgage arrears fall over 2025
- FCA market reform and roadmaps aim to improve the lending and homebuying process
- Market share
- The mortgage ‘big six’ lenders account for three-quarters of all outstanding mortgage balances
- Graph 6: mortgage provider share of total outstanding mortgage balances, % of total, 2025
-
THE CONSUMER
- Impact of rising costs on mortgages
- Mortgage ownership remains steady despite financial challenges
- Cost of living impact continues to provide hurdles to homeownership
- Graph 7: financial situation, by housing situation, 2026
- Remortgaging drives recent mortgage activity
- Mortgage intentions
- Homeownership remains a priority for Younger Millennials
- Stability remains a key focus for mortgage planning
- Offer flexibility in an uncertain world
- Homebuying journey – savings and incentives
- Home deposit savers are in it for the long haul
- Lenders can position themselves as deposit accelerators
- Graph 8: current value of home deposit savings – net, by mortgage intentions in the next two years, 2026
- Homebuyers leverage savings and investments to unlock deposit funding
- Tailor investments and loans to appeal to the needs of multiple property owners
- Graph 9: use of investments and unsecured loans as sources for home deposit saving, by mortgage intentions in the next two years, 2026
- Promote joint application products and the best use of monetary gifts
- Rising house prices force steep deposit savings targets
- Appeal to early career stage Gen Z with incentivised mortgages for energy efficient homes
- Frustrations with the mortgage application process
- Product selection and agent-to-agent communication are the top homebuyer frustrations
- Own the end-to-end mortgage journey through process integration
- Reduce perceived complexity to appeal to FTBs
- Graph 10: difficult or frustrating parts of the mortgage or homebuying process – any rank, by reason for last mortgage arrangement, 2026
- Barriers to homeownership
- Affordability and lifestyle factors limit potential homeownership growth
- Reframe affordability perceptions through additional product flexibility
- Position ‘first step’ properties as necessary pathway to ‘dream’ homes
- Graph 11: willingness to compromise on home requirements to become a homeowner, by lifestage, 2026
- Remortgaging concerns and considerations
- Ease cost anxieties by making remortgaging feel more predictable
- Graph 12: spending cutbacks to afford higher housing costs and expectations of increased mortgage repayments, by age, 2026
- Turn mortgage switching confusion into conversion and trust
- Serve the retirement-payoff worry with flexible product pathways
- Graph 13: concern over paying off mortgage into retirement and consideration of extending mortgage terms, by age, 2026
-
INNOVATION AND MARKETING
- Nationwide introduces digital mortgage deeds signings
- Several building societies target niche borrowers with new offerings
- Gen H diversifies offering to FTBs with ‘part and part’ mortgage
- Tembo’s HomeSaver account rewards home buyers and home movers
- Lloyds fully digitises its homebuying services
- NatWest and Barclays target AI-powered guidance and premium customers
- Advertising and marketing
- Lenders focus marketing campaigns on the vast FTB market
- Barclays’ brand refresh focuses on meaningful progress and moving out
- Experian’s ‘Better Your Story’ promotes its support with mortgage outcomes
-
APPENDIX
- Report scope and definition
- The market
- Forecast methodology
- Forecast methodology – fan chart
- Gross mortgage lending market size and forecast – value
- Gross mortgage lending market size and forecast – prediction intervals
- Gross mortgage lending segmentation
- Outstanding mortgage balances
- Graph 14: gross outstanding lending secured against residential properties, Q1 2016-Q4 2025
- Nationwide closes the gap on Lloyds’ outstanding mortgage balance portfolio
- Legislation and regulation
- FCA announces mortgage affordability rules changes
- Lenders may be given additional flexibility to offer higher LTI mortgages
- Lenders commit to supporting mortgage customers affected by recent market turmoil
- Roadmaps aim to improve the lending and homebuying process
- The housing market
- Building activity – permanent dwellings started and completed
- Graph 15: number of permanent dwellings started and completed, 2000/01-24/25
- Average UK house prices
- Graph 16: average house price, 2005-26
- Average monthly private rents
- Graph 17: private rental prices, 2018-26
- Median house price to gross annual earnings ratio
- Graph 18: ratio of median house price to median gross annual earnings, England and Wales, 1997-2024
- Residential property transactions over £40,000
- Graph 19: residential property transactions over £40,000, 2017/18 to 2025/26*
- Monthly interest rates of UK MFIs for selected types of mortgages
- Graph 20: monthly interest rates of UK MFIs for selected types of mortgages, 2019-26
- LTV ratios for mortgage lending
- Graph 21: LTV ratios for mortgage lending, Q1 2021-Q4 2025
- The consumer
- Consumer research questions
- Consumer research methodology – EMEA
- CHAID analysis – methodology data
- CHAID analysis – methodology data tree
- CHAID analysis – methodology data table
- UK generation groups
- Abbreviations
UK Mortgage Industry – Trends and Insights
- Mortgage lending continued its resurgence in 2025, with gross mortgage lending rising by 20.2% in 2025 to £290.8 billion. Elevated mortgage rates for both FTBs and those refinancing, and house price growth contributed to this significant lending increase. However, high interest rates have led to mortgage products priced well above the levels seen before the pandemic, reducing homeownership affordability.
- Saving for a deposit is a prolonged and fragmented journey. Despite a fifth of would-be homebuyers spending over 5 years saving, most have insufficient amounts saved for most traditional products. Some savers may reach their target amount, only for external factors to change, such as house prices and rates, making this amount insufficient. Others may also need to use these savings to cope with rising living costs. In terms of homeownership, there is a structural gap between aspiration and financial readiness, not a lack of saving intent.
- The mortgage and homebuying process remains fragmented and emotionally draining. The ability to find the best mortgage product leads to the greatest level of frustration, and, with a reduction in mortgage products on the market, these frustrations are likely to persist for prospective homebuyers.
This Report Looks at the Following Areas:
- Gross mortgage lending market size and forecast for the next five years
- Mortgage ownership and management, including type of mortgage product owned and intentions over the next two years
- Home deposit saving durations, levels and sources, such as ISAs, monetary gifts from family and investments
- Frustrations with the mortgage and homebuying process, such as finding the best mortgage product and legal/conveyancing delays
- Barriers to homeownership, including current interest rate levels, willingness to compromise on home requirements and the effectiveness of recent mortgage affordability rule changes
- Remortgaging concerns and considerations, such as making repayments into retirement and having to make spending cutbacks to afford higher housing costs
£ 2,195 excl. Tax
Secure direct checkout
Instant PDF download
Portal access included
Need help deciding?
Get in touch
Trusted by global industry leaders
One of the biggest challenges we face is the need to get smart on a business or category real quick.
We are talking to clients who live and breathe their category every day and the expectation is that we will be able to get caught up very quickly, and bring the thinking that can help them.
We need to do that often in a matter of days, so it’s not a small ask. Mintel gives us a very articulate view of category conditions and does so at the speed we need it.
Jeff White, Business Development Director, Deutsch
When I’m investigating specific sectors I tend to use Mintel reports for their forecasting, which I’ve always found to be very accurate.
They also offer really broad and deep coverage in their reports. They are very, very detailed. For example, we were able to gain insight across a wide range of business areas from just one report, proving that Mintel is excellent value for money.
So overall, it’s the level of detail and the quality of forecasting that really stand out for me.
Rebecca Green, Market Insight Manager, Wincanton
Working in a customer-obsessed organization means that data and insights have to be at our fingertips. Mintel’s reports help us support anecdotes with real quantifiable insights. The summary sections (which I really like) helps save time by giving a birds eye view of the content before spending time combing through the pages.
Our business review discussions are strengthened by the relevancy of the reports to help us better understand our customers. In addition, the customer service received from the team (especially in crunch periods) makes the process of understanding customer behavior even better.
Ngozi Ngonadi-Nkwoji, Senior Marketing Manager, Amazon
Mintel helps us when we want to know something quickly – it provides fast answers to our questions. If we need to get a view of what’s going on in a particular market it’s very useful.
When carrying out background research, I find Mintel an excellent starting point.
The fact that it covers so many markets is a big plus for me– instead of having to buy specialist products in each area we are interested in, especially when we only require a brief view on a particular market, we can go to Mintel for help as a one-stop shop. I find Mintel a useful and valuable resource.
Ben Zeidler, Director - Research and Analytics, Tenth Wave
Mintel is really good for getting a handle on a particular category quickly. If we are working on a new business pitch in an area we don’t have much experience in, it’s a brilliant way to get up to speed with what’s going on, what’s changing and what the key trends are in any category.
It’s very rare now that anyone will plough through a 200-page report – that’s why the summaries are really useful. We know they are backed up by a lot of detail, so if you need to go into something in more depth you know the information will be all there for you.
Pauline Robson, Managing Partner, Mediacom
