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CML: Lending down again year-on-year
22 August 2008 11:30
Mortgage lending rose slightly last month but was still down from the level recorded a year previously, according to new figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML).
Having fallen by 2.1 per cent in June, gross mortgage lending increased by 5.3 per cent to an estimated £24.8 billion in July, but this was still down by 27.4 per cent year-on-year, which was slightly below the 31.7 per cent annual dip reported for the month before.
CML head of research Bob Pannell said last month's statistics still represented a notable decline in lending, which he said was likely to be indicative of the lower levels of activity to come over the remainder of 2008.
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors responded that despite the base rate falling by 0.75 per cent in the past year, only those with higher deposits have been able to take advantage, while many first-time buyers have been shut out of the market
It warned that access to mortgages remains limited and that with securitisation markets effectively closed and banks still repairing their balance sheets, there is little chance of lending recovering soon, despite the prospect of further base rate cuts.
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