Mortgage Lending Rises

There was a significant rise in the number of mortgage approvals and the total value of mortgage lending in July.

The Council of Mortgage Lenders is reporting that mortgage lending in July was at its highest levels for a year.

There were 48,000 mortgage approvals totally £7.3 billion in July, however these figures are over ten percent below levels seen in July 2010, although they beat monthly lending figures for the last twelve months.

Remortgaging also saw a boost in activity in July, according to the CML.

First time buyers are still struggling to secure mortgages as the average deposit requirements have held steady at 20 percent for the last twelve months, although some lenders have made recent announcements about new 100% LTV mortgages, albeit with family guarantor support.

Across the whole market, the majority of borrowers are continuing to opt for repayment mortgages. 42,200 loans for house purchase (86%) and 24,300 remortgage loans (77%) were taken out on a repayment basis in July.

MoneyHighStreet Comments:

These figures show welcome renewed mortgage activity in July which was also noticeable from a flurry of “Sold” signs being put up, in our area, at least.

However, we saw considerable stock market turmoil in August and fears of a double dip recession and a worsening of the Euro crisis remain. This could undermine consumer confidence so we wouldn’t be surprised to see a fall in mortgage lending over the next few months.