November saw the lowest mortgage lending in the UK since May, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML).
The figure of ?12 billion for gross mortgage lending was down 10 per cent on October?s figure, and 14 per cent lower than November 2008. The drop follows a steady rise in home loans through the autumn.
Although the harsh winter weather has played its role in the dip in the housing market, the CML said that the November decline was not simply the result of seasonal factors, with such a fall usually accounting for less than 10 per cent.
CML economist Paul Samter did feel that the long-term picture was still one of stability, in spite of the stamp duty ?holiday? coming to an end in January. The return of one per cent stamp duty on properties sold for more than ?125,000 (rather than ?175,000 during the ?holiday?) was confirmed by Alistair Darling in his pre-budget report.
Mr Samter told the BBC that there was little reason to expect much change in the coming months. ?There could be a modest decline in underlying house buying activity in early 2010 due to the stamp duty holiday ending, with activity bunching over the last few months of 2009,? he said.
Sadly, Mr Samter could offer little optimism for first-time buyers. He said: ?There has been a modest increase in the availability of mortgage credit recently, including some tentative signs of a few higher loan-to-value products emerging.?
?But there is no sign of a swift recovery in lending volumes, especially with remortgaging set to remain at subdued levels while low interest rates persist,? he commented.
