September saw gross mortgage total at ?12.5 billion. This is a slight rise of 2 per cent from the ?12.3 billion reached in August. However, 2009?s September figure is down by 27 per cent compared with September last year, according to figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML), as reported by The Guardian.
The third quarter of the year saw gross lending at ?38.9 billion, a rise by 18 per cent compared to the second quarter but down by 36 per cent against the third quarter of last year.
The CML said the differences between this year and last year?s gross mortgage total were due to house purchase activity increasing but at the same time, remortgaging declining. This meant that between August and September there was only ?modest improvement?.
CML economist Paul Samter said: ?House buying activity is running at considerably higher levels than around the turn of the year. However, it remains weak on any historic comparison and is unlikely to rise much further given the constraints the lending community faces and a still difficult economic backdrop.?
Andrew Montlake, director of independent mortgage broker Coreco, said: ?While these latest figures hardly set the world alight, they do highlight the continued stabilisation in the housing market and some undoubted positive signs.? Mr Montlake warned that the Financial Services Authority (FSA) could slow down any improvement in the mortgage market by going through with regulatory changes such as a crackdown on self-certification mortgages and tighter lending criteria across a range of home loan products.
He commented: ?It is ironic that, on the one hand the Government is trying to force lenders to lend more, and on the other hand is planning to make it harder for them to do just that. What is clear is that any recovery will be inherently purchase-led. While remortgages are continuing to drop off, buyers are still clamouring to take advantage of low rates and low prices.?
