CML report subdued mortgage market for July.

CML report subdued mortgage market for July.

The CML have reported the July lending figures.
Volumes of house purchase loans were up 7% on June at 56,000 with remortgage volumes unchanged at 28,000 transactions.  First time buyer loans declined by 2% from June to 19,400 loans in July.
Conveyancers generally seem to be reporting that a lot has happened since July and the market has cooled since then.
A series of industry players quickly commented on the figures
Paul Hunt, managing director of Phoebus Software Ltd, said:
“These figures represent nervousness about the future of the economy. It’s encouraging that the numbers are up on last year but we’d have hoped for higher and more valuable activity to show that the market is firmly on the road to recovery. Uncertainty surrounding our economic future was bound to have an impact on the housing market sooner or later. And both lenders and borrowers have been cautious amid the uncertainty surrounding inflation, the impact of public spending cuts, and the health of the UK property market. With the summer always a quiet time for the market it won’t be until the September figures are released that we get a real sense of how the end of the year is likely to turn out. But if we enter the autumn at a trot rather than a canter we’re unlikely to see huge growth before 2011.”
Whilst David Whittaker, managing director of Mortgages For Business, said:
“This summer was destined to be a slow one. The hot weather, football world cup, and the post general election and emergency budget furore all combined to provide distraction after distraction for would-be borrowers. But another fall in the number of first-time buyers entering the market is putting untold pressure on the private rental sector. Tighter lending criteria and rocketing deposit requirements are forcing the average age of unassisted first-time buyers to record levels. Many private landlords are already taking advantage of this demand and there are a growing number of mortgages available for investors looking to bolster their portfolios. Landlords will be keeping a close eye on the MPC over the next few months as whispers of a base rate rise grow in volume. But the Bank of England is keen to maintain a higher level of inflation in order to help strengthen the economy. So landlords needn’t panic about an imminent rate hike.”   

General News

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *