The Cambridge Building Society had a record month for lending in June, supporting 254 purchases and remortgages totalling more than £51m.
The building society did more business in June than at any point in its 170 year history, and more than double the completions in May.
The end of the first phase of the government’s Stamp Duty holiday on 30th June caused a ‘sprint to the finish’, with 116 of 254 completions getting over the line in the last week of the month alone.
SPI Capital: Price crash fears unfounded but affordability a growing concern
Carole Charter (pictured), chief commercial officer at The Cambridge, said: “Our people worked tirelessly to get as many transactions completed before the first phase of the Stamp Duty holiday window closed at the end of June.”
Nearly three-quarters of those completions were new mortgages (purchases) 72%, with 28% cent remortgages (switching to The Cambridge from another lender).
The Cambridge further extended its lending area to the whole of England and Wales in March 2020. Around half of the June transactions came from the broader lending area.
Charter added: “Some borrowers managed to save more on their monthly outgoings during the pandemic, with reduced travel costs, being unable to take holidays, and that, together with the stamp duty holiday, provided the incentive to move home, or consider purchasing a slightly more expensive property than they would have otherwise considered.
“Although this particular milestone has now passed, we’re still supporting the many homebuyers who are buying lower value properties and need to complete their purchase before the end of September.”
The government’s stamp dDuty threshold has now reduced to £250,000 until the end of September.