Lending is up despite property market jitters (20/07/2010)

Gross mortgage lending in June was an estimated £13.1 billion, a 15 per cent increase from £11.4 billion in May and a 7 per cent increase from £12.2 billion in June last year, according to new data issued today by the the Council of Mortgage Lenders.
    Gross lending in the second quarter of 2010 was an estimated £35 billion, up 17 per cent from the first quarter of this year (£30 billion) and up 7 per cent from the second quarter of 2009 (£32.7 billion). Lending in the first half of 2010 remained unchanged from the first half of 2009 (£65 billion).
    However, homeowners and buy-to-let landlords should only draw limited cheer from these statistics, according to CML economist Paul Samter: “Our gross lending estimate of £13.1 billion in June represents a seasonal pick-up and is higher than June last year, but is still indicative of low levels of activity. “There are signs of house prices stabilising and more properties coming onto the market following the abolition of home information packs. This may improve liquidity in the market, but transaction levels are subdued and likely to remain so while access to credit remains constrained.”



By Andy Stern

© Property Owners Directory 2010