Editor's note: This brief was summarised by The Property AI Newsroom from a report by Mortgage Strategy. Read the original article for full details.

Nationwide Reports 2.5% Rise in Gross Mortgage Lending

Nationwide has reported a 2.5% year-on-year increase in gross mortgage lending, reaching £45.8bn for the 12 months ending 31 March. The building society’s mortgage loan book expanded from £275.9bn to £286.3bn during the same period, according to its preliminary full-year financial results.

Nationwide attributed this growth to its support for first-time buyers, including higher loan-to-income lending, and a continued focus on customer retention. The average loan-to-value ratio for new lending remained unchanged at 72%.

Net lending, however, fell by 35%, dropping from £15.9bn to £10.3bn. Nationwide stated that this decrease was due to unusually strong mortgage activity in March 2025 ahead of lower stamp duty thresholds coming into effect in April.

The proportion of mortgage accounts more than three months in arrears improved slightly, decreasing from 0.43% to 0.39% over the year. Profit before tax fell from £2.3bn to £1.49bn, following the building society’s Fairer Share payment to members. The previous year’s results had also benefited from a one-off gain linked to the acquisition of Virgin Money.

Nationwide distributed £1.8bn in Fairer Share payments last year and will release a further £440m to members from 10 June.

These results may be of interest to UK letting agents and inventory clerks monitoring lender activity, arrears trends, and the mortgage market’s impact on rental demand.