Mortgage lending figures rising
22/10/2009 -
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The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has released figures that show a 2 per cent rise in lending for September against the previous month. Homebuyers clocked up a total of £12.5 billion from banks and building societies and a total of £38.9 billion in the three months to the end of September. This figure is still 36 per cent lower than at the same time last year.
Surveys by industry insiders such as building societies, have shown lately that house prices have dramatically recovered to pre 2008 figures with asking prices across the country increasing at a high rate, especially in London and the south east.
An economist as the CML, Paul Samter, said that mortgage lending was not likely to increase by too much above the current levels due to the strict criteria imposed by lenders on borrowers. Mr 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”.
