Gross mortgage lending falls

Gross mortgage lending falls

The Council of Mortgage Lenders has estimated that gross mortgage lending in September was £11.6 billion.

This is 10% lower than August’s gross lending figure of £12.9 billion and a 15% fall from September 2011’s £13.7 billion.

Duncan Kreeger, chairman of West One Loans said: “The mortgage market is clearly in a lot of trouble and today’s figures show the situation is getting worse.

“Traditional credit is failing and even the government’s flagship Funding for Lending scheme is having little effect.”

Richard Sexton, director of e.surv chartered surveyors, said that whilst Funding for Lending has yet to jumpstart first-time buyer lending it was too early to form conclusions.

He said: ”It’s early days though. The effects of Funding for Lending have yet to kick-in.

“Think of it as nurofen for a headache. The mortgage market has taken its medicine, but once you take a pill you don’t always feel immediate relief, it can take some time to work.”

Gross lending for the third quarter of 2012 was therefore an estimated £37.3 billion, an 8% increase from the second quarter of this year (£34.5 billion) but a 5% decrease from the third quarter of 2011 (£39.3 billion).

CML chief economist Bob Pannell said: "There have been hints of demand softening over recent months, but monthly patterns may have been distorted by the Olympics.

“House purchase demand failed to lift significantly in the third quarter, despite much better mortgage availability.

"Remortgage activity continued to languish, in contrast to relatively strong levels a year ago."

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