Yorkshire Building Society provided 75,732 mortgages in 2021, up from 72,172 in 2020, as it supported a record number of first-time buyers buying.
The Society’s latest results also revealed that mortgage balances had increased to £41.9bn in 2021 from £38.8bn the year before, the highest in its history.
Throughout the year the Society provided a total of £10.3bn in new funding of which 36% (£3.6bn) was to first-time buyers.
While the number of mortgage approvals fell in October, following the stamp duty holiday coming to an end in September, they grew again in November and December and exceeded pre-pandemic averages.
Despite rising house prices demand remains strong although larger properties with more outside space proved more popular as people reassessed their needs following a year of lockdowns.
The Society remains committed to helping first-time buyers, who are less well served by the wider market, find a place to call home and was the first lender to re-enter the 95% mortgage market 2021.
This, combined with other support such as Shared Ownership lending, resulted in a record 42,000 people having a place to call home for the very first time.
Stephen White, interim chief executive of Yorkshire Building Society, said: “I am delighted to report that in a challenging year for the economy when many members and customers have faced very difficult circumstances we have been able to help more people with their key financial needs than ever before.
“Our mutual model has helped us to deliver record savings and mortgage balances allowing us to both increase our savings rates and help a record number of first-time buyers.
“The strength of our mortgage book has helped us to support borrowers facing serious financial difficulty and, at a time of rising house prices, release some of our provisions.”
