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CML paints gloomy picture of mortgage market
22 April 2008 10:30
Gross mortgage lending was down considerably over the first quarter, according to new figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML), with worse expected to follow.
Whereas lending usually increases by around 20 per cent between February and March, in actuality it only rose by 5.1 per cent last month to £26.3 billion, which was also down by 17.1 per cent year-on-year.
Moreover, the quarterly lending figure of £77.23 billion was the lowest recorded since the first quarter of 2006 and marked a decrease of 11.6 per cent from the final three months of 2007 and of eight per cent from the first quarter of last year.
CML director general Michael Coogan noted that lending on completed transactions has dipped substantially over the past year but warned that both the volume and value of mortgages approved look set to worsen over the next few months.
He therefore called on the Bank of England to take early action in order to improve market conditions and increase the availability of mortgage finance, while advising any borrowers in financial difficulties to speak to their lender immediately.
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