20
Jul
Summer rise in mortgage lending
The total amount of UK mortgage lending rose sharply in June
compared with the previous month, according to lenders.
The amount lent by members of the Council of Mortgage Lenders
(CML) reached £12.3bn in June, up from £10.5bn a month
earlier.
However, the rise was mainly the result of the common seasonal
increase in moving home and the figure was still 48% lower than in
June 2008.
A separate Bank of England report suggested a subdued UK credit
market.
'Pick-up'
Overall, mortgage lending in the UK has slumped dramatically
since the onset of the banking crisis in the autumn of 2007.
But there have been some signs of greater interest from home
buyers recently, and the CML's estimated gross lending figure is
the highest of any month this year.
"The pick-up in June's lending largely reflects seasonal
factors, and these may well support lending volumes at moderately
higher levels over the rest of the summer," said CML economist Paul
Samter.
The less volatile three-month on three-month figures show that
gross lending in the second quarter of 2009 totalled an estimated
£33.3bn, unchanged from the first three months of the year.
This is the lowest level since the first three months of 2001.
Mr Samter said that the mortgage market had shrunk in terms of
both the number of lenders offering home loans, and the actual
number of these loans on offer.
This, as well as fears of job losses and low demand for
mortgages among consumers, would hold back any "significant and
underlying improvement" in total lending. he said.
The CML has retained its forecast of gross mortgage lending of
£145bn this year.
Some brokers believe that a supply of more affordable loans,
with lower deposits, could bring back interest from buyers.
"There are more prospective buyers out there now than there have
been for some months, despite the tough economic conditions and
still fragile consumer confidence. But ongoing mortgage constraints
mean many prospective buyers will remain just that," said David
Smith, senior partner at Carter Jonas property consultants.
Lending report
A Bank of England review of the levels of lending found that
mortgage activity was still at extremely low levels in May, but
there had been some "stabilisation" in housing market activity and
prices.
With many people unsure of their economic future, owing to the
growing level of unemployment, there has been no significant rise
in demand for credit such as credit cards, overdrafts and
loans.
In fact, the number of people missing repayments on consumer
credit rose in the past three months and is expected to increase
again.
The report also struck another blow to hopes of an economic
recovery by revealing that UK businesses were paying back more of
their loans than they were borrowing, with fees reported to have
risen in recent months.
Net lending to UK businesses fell by £3.4bn in May after a
£6bn fall in April, pushing the annual rate of growth down to
0.1% in May.
source: www.bbc.co.uk/news