UK Finance's latest Mortgage Trends Update for August 2018 reveals:

• There were 35,500 new first-time buyer mortgages completed in the month, some 2 per cent more than in the same month a year earlier. The £6.1bn of new lending in the month was 5.2 per cent more year-on-year.  The average first-time buyer is 30 and has a gross household income of £42,000.
• There were 38,000 new homemover mortgages completed in the month, some 2.3 per cent fewer than in the same month a year earlier. The £8.5bn of new lending in the month was the same year-on-year. The average homemover is 39 and has a gross household income of £57,000.
• There were 37,100 new homeowner remortgages completed in the month, some 0.3 per cent fewer than in the same month a year earlier. The £6.5bn of remortgaging in the month was the same year-on-year.
• There were 6,000 new buy-to-let home purchase mortgages completed in the month, some 13 per cent fewer than in the same month a year earlier. By value this was £0.8bn of lending in the month, 20 per cent down year-on-year.
• There were 13,800 new buy-to-let remortgages completed in the month, some 4.5 per cent more than in the same month a year earlier. By value this was £2.2bn of lending in the month, 4.8 per cent more year-on-year.

Commenting on the data, Jackie Bennett, Director of Mortgages at UK Finance, said: 

Overall house purchase completions remain stable, driven largely by the number of first-time buyers which reached its highest monthly level since June 2017.

Buy to Let remortgaging saw relatively strong growth in August, due in part to the number of two year fixed deals coming to an end. This suggests that while new purchases in the buy-to-let market continue to be impacted by recent tax and regulatory changes, many existing landlords remain committed to the market.

However, the homeowner remortgaging market has softened slightly, reflecting the many borrowers who had already locked into attractive deals in the months preceding the Bank of England's base rate rise.