8
Jul
Lending for house purchase up
The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has found that lending for
house purchase increase by four per cent in volume and two per cent
in value between April and May this year.
Overall there were 52,700 loans taken out to buy a property in that
period at a total value of £7.9 billion, but this is still 44
per cent lower than in May last year.
The organisation also recorded a significant decline in
remortgaging, with 14 per cent less loans taken out for this
purpose in May than April.
At the same time, the number of loans to first-time buyers
increased by four per cent.
Commenting on the figures, CML director general Michael Coogan
said: "Lending levels continue to be lower than last year and any
recovery is still some way away, with little sign of the special
liquidity scheme increasing the flow of funds to the industry or
lowering the cost of funds as hoped."
Recently the CML called on the government to do more to help the
housing market, which has seen falling property prices in many
areas for the last ten months.
