18-04-2008
Slowdown predicted in mortgage lending
News by Adfero for Simply Business - independent providers of public liability insurance, business finance, landlord insurance, buy-to-let mortgages & commercial mortgages.
The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has predicted that the amount of money loaned through residential and buy-to-let mortgages is set to decline this year.
New figures from the organisation reveal that while gross lending in March was up by five per cent on February, the figure of £26.3 billion was 17 per cent lower than at the same point last year.
Similarly, the rise between February and March should typically be much higher - an increase of 20 per cent is the usual benchmark.
Michael Coogan, director general of the CML, believes that the picture for mortgage approvals in the coming months is "worsening".
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) agrees that last month's slump does not yet mark the low point for mortgage lending.
"We need urgent action by the government and the Bank of England to restore the willingness of mortgage companies to lend," states David Stubbs, senior economist at RICS.