January sees mortgage lending increase

22-Feb-2008

New figures show that there was an 11 per cent increase in gross lending in January, which could be welcome news for the first-time buyer.

The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has indicated that this is a healthy performance in light of the unstable market conditions, but advises that lending volumes may decrease in the coming months due to a fall in approvals toward the close of the year.

CML director general Michael Coogan commented: "Gross lending held up well in January. However, there is considerable uncertainty in the housing market at the moment and we expect lending volumes to be lower in the coming months."

Next month's budget could be beneficial to home buyers, as the group points out that buyers may be encouraged to enter the market if the cost of moving is reduced.

Mr Coogan says that this could be achieved by the government raising stamp duty thresholds on mortgages and cutting the rates placed on stamp duty, which would be of particular significance to first-time buyers.

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