21 May 2004

Upward trend in mortgage lending continues rise, says report

Mortgage lending in April totalled £25 billion, 1% higher than in March and 25% higher than in April last year, according to the latest lending data from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML).

House purchase loans accounted for 51% of gross lending, at £12.8 billion, matching the record figure of October last year. House purchase lending was 11% higher than in March, and 58% higher than in April last year. It is likely to have been bolstered both by seasonal factors and by the effect of rising house prices, the CML said.

Loans to first-time buyers slipped back to 28% of all loans for house purchase from 31% the previous month and 34% last April. But the number of first-time buyers held up reasonably well at around 33,000, despite continuing affordability constraints.

Remortgaging, by contrast, slowed to just 33% of the market - the lowest proportion since September 2002. At £9.2 billion the value of remortgaging fell from £10.1 billion in March, and was 5% lower than last April's figure of £9.7 billion, when it accounted for 49% of new lending. The slowdown in year-on-year growth since the beginning of the year appears to bring to an end the trend of rising remortgage activity that has been evident since the late 1990s, the council said.

CML Director General Michael Coogan that despite there being no sign a decline in total lending, borrowers should realise that mortgages will become more expensive throughout the rest of this year.

"But it is interesting to note the slowdown in remortgaging over the past few months," he said.

"Given that there is some relationship between remortgaging and mortgage equity withdrawal, this may suggest that the consumer appetite for borrowing against housing equity could at last be showing early signs of flagging. If so, then this would be a helpful pointer towards the likelihood of a soft landing for the housing market."

(gmcg)