20
Feb
Mortgage lending increases
Gross mortgage lending in January increased by 11 per cent to
£26.5 billion, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders
(CML).
This is hailed as good news by the CML, amid the current financial
uncertainty and market conditions in the latter half of last
year.
However director general Michael Coogan warned that volumes would
be lower over the next few months because mortgage approvals had
fallen off.
He also suggested demand will be stronger for people seeking to
remortgage than for house purchasing in the short term.
"Home buyers might be more inclined to transact if their moving
costs were reduced and the government has the opportunity to
address this by raising stamp duty thresholds," he said.
It could also cut stamp duty in next month's Budget, Mr Coogan
added.
The CML also recently suggested long-term fixed-rate mortgages
would be more popular with people if they were easier and cheaper
to exit.
