LONDON: Mortgage lending reached a peak of 28.5 billion pounds in November -- the highest since July 2004 and the second strongest figure on record, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders. This represents a 5 per cent increase over October and 30 per cent over November 2004 figure of 21.76 billion pounds.
The figures constituted a "robust underlying picture" as lending activity normally petered out towards the year-end, said the council. This is further evidence that the housing market is on a course to recovery, supported by high levels of remortgaging as fixed rate loans matured and people looked for new deals, it added.
The council's director Michael Coogan said the housing and mortgage markets have clearly strengthened significantly from the lows of a year ago.
However, he said the council's expectation for the coming year is of relatively subdued transaction levels, "mortgage lending moderating a little from recent levels, and house prices rising by about 2%".
In a related development, British Bankers' Association released a set of figures, which also showed that mortgage lending in November rose at its fastest pace since July 2004. It said net mortgage lending rose by an underlying 5.1 billion pounds, compared with the rise of 4.3 billion in October and the average of the previous six months of 4.4 billion pounds.
There is a steady demand in the property market, said David Dooks, BBA's director of statistics. He was, however, skeptical of other lending figures. "Ahead of the festive season, the picture of consumer spending and credit is mixed," he said, adding, "The pick-up in retail sales is not yet being matched by stronger borrowing on credit cards or higher demand for personal loans."
Credit card borrowing rose by 135 million pounds during November, compared with a recent monthly average of 146 million pounds, while lending through loans and overdrafts increased by only 125 million pounds, well below the recent average of 400 million pounds.
In another set of figures, released by the Building Societies Association, the value of mortgage approvals eased to 4.051 billion pounds compared with 4.148 billion in October. The figure was, however, higher than a year-ago figure of 3.055 billion pounds.
Posted
on : Thu, 22 Dec 2005 08:15 GMT | Mortgages News
By : Mark Richardson
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