Skipton delivers 'strong financial performance' over the first half of 2024

Group mortgage balances grew by 10.8 per cent year-on-year to £30.1bn and 41 per cent of new lending was to first-time buyers.

Stuart Haire, Skipton Group Chief Executive, said: “Skipton’s first half performance has seen very encouraging progress to create a stronger, more sustainable and more purposeful Skipton Group.

"The recent launch of our Home Affordability Index makes clear the significant challenge the UK faces in helping more people buy their first home.

"Given our position as the largest owner of estate agencies in the UK, we continue to develop innovative products, such as Track Record, to play our part in driving collaborative change across the UK housing sector.

“We’ve maintained our financial strength and disciplined approach to managing arrears, while also investing in our members, group capabilities, and strengthening our executive team.”

Commenting on outlook, Skipton said that despite predictions of a more subdued year for the mortgage market, 2024 has been encouragingly buoyant so far.

The statement added: “Application volumes in the market year to date sit around 9 per cent up year-on-year, with first-time buyers driving the highest proportion of demand.”

Skipton said it was continuing to see strong demand for savings this year and it expects this to continue throughout the rest of the year while interest rates remain higher.

The group added: “We are particularly seeing strong demand for ISAs, as customers look to make their savings as tax efficient as possible.

"With a large amount of market savings maturities in the second half of the year, we expect to see a lot of savers shopping around for the best rates. We also expect fixed rate demand to remain high and some of the demand may shift to longer term products as savers look to capitalise on higher rates for longer.

"This is particularly the case given a further anticipated Base Rate reduction in the second half of the year, where savings rates across the market will likely start to decrease.”

House prices fell by less than expected in 2023 and Skipton expects “low growth” for 2024.

It added: “The market is expected to remain sensitive to mortgage rates, which has tempered demand somewhat, while supply has ticked up, with this increased supply expected to keep house prices in check. However, the steady flow of homes onto the market will likely support overall market health.

The statement added: "Any Base Rate cuts, which would feed through to mortgage rates, will also further boost activity in the housing market.”