UK Mortgage Lending Up 16 Percent In April
The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) reported today that its members granted 16% more home loans in April than the previous month.
Before we get the bunting out and get too carried away, the number granted was still 28% below April 2008 levels. Total loans granted came to GBP4.5 billion, 40% less than a year ago.
The average loan made was for just 67% of the total value of the property being mortgaged, with cautious lenders only lending an average of 2.63 times the borrowers income.
Not a lot of cheer for first-time buyers in amongst that lot really. Still, on the current market some people will see this as bullish news for the pound.
UK: Mortgage Lending Down 63 Percent In 2008
New data from the Council of Mortgage Lenders makes grim reading and reflects just how tight getting a mortgage has become. The figures reveal total net lending for 2008 was just £39.7bn, down 63% from £108bn in 2007.
The number of purchased home loans dipped from 1,017,000 in 2007 to 516,000 in 2008, that was the lowest level since 1974.
Loans for first-time buyers also plummeted by 163,600, with 357,800 in 2007 to 194,200 in 2008. First-time buyers had to put down an average deposit of 22% in 2008, and that is simply beyond many. It is also the highest level of average deposit put down by first-time buyers since the CML's records started back in 1974. Until the end of 2007 a 10% deposit was the norm.
UK Mortgage Lending Slumps
Mortgage lending collapsed in October, as it dived by nearly 70% over the month to reach the second lowest figure on record, the Bank of England has said. Skip related content
Just £459m was lent during October, well down on September's £1.49bn and only 6% of the level for October 2007.
Also, mortgage approvals fell to 32,000 in October, matching August, which was the lowest since records began nearly a decade ago.
UK Mortgage Lending Down 52Pct On Year Ago
The number of mortgages approved for house purchases was down to 21,584 in October, 52% lower than a year earlier.
The figures from the British Bankers' Association (BBA) show that in October, net mortgage lending by the UK's biggest banks rose by £2.9bn.
This was less than in September and below the average for the previous six months of £3.9bn.
The figures come the day after a stark warning about the state of the mortgage market in a report by former banker Sir James Crosby.
He warned that without government intervention, net new mortgage lending might shrink below zero in 2009.
Sir James said that, in the current economic climate, it would be hard for banks to finance loans.
"Therefore I believe that new net mortgage lending is likely to fall below zero in 2009, with only a modest recovery likely in 2010," he said.
The downturn in the global financial market paired with tightening credit conditions continues to take a toll on Europe’s second largest economy, and conditions may only get worse as home prices fall further.
Meanwhile, business investments in the U.K. fell 0.2% in the third quarter despite expectations for a 1.9% decline. The data suggests that economic activity will remain subdued well into 2009 as the economy heads into a recession, which could force the Bank of England to lower borrowing costs even further as growth prospects deteriorate.
Market participants have already raised bets that the BoE will deliver a 50bp cut at the December 4th policy meeting, which would lower the benchmark interest rate to 2.50% from 3.00%.
Mortgage drought deepens on 32% lending fall
(Times Online) -- UK mortgage lending fell by 32 per cent in the year to June and is will worsen further if the Bank of England raises interest rates in a bid to combat inflation, mortgage lenders warned today.
Figures from Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) show that during June - traditionally one of the busiest periods in the housing market - gross mortgage lending fell 3 per cent to an estimated £23.8 billion as buyers struggled to secure new home loan deals.
The CML said today the pace of decline in the mortgage market was accelerating, with lending in the first three months of this year down 11 per cent and by 21 per cent in the second quarter.
But there was a glimmer of hope for homeowners as Halifax, the UK's biggest mortgage lender, announced it was cutting some mortgage rates by up to 0.15 per cent. This comes after Nationwide Building Society cut some of its rates earlier this week, although it increased rates for borrowers who have less than a 10 per cent deposit.
However, Michael Coogan, director general at the CML, said that lenders' funding shortages was hampering the mortgage market and indicated that the Government needed to step up support.
UK Mortgage Approval Declines More Than Expected In May
(RTTNews) - UK mortgage approvals for house purchases fell to 42,000 in May from 58,000 in April, the Bank of England announced Monday. Mortgage approvals reached a new series low since records started in 1999 and stood below 51,000 expected by economists.
Net lending secured on dwellings increased GBP4.1 billion, below the increase in April and the previous six-month average. Annual growth in lending was 8.2% in May compared with 8.7% in April.
Meanwhile, net consumer credit climbed GBP1.4 billion in May, up from GBP1.1 in April. On a monthly basis, consumer credit increased 0.6% and rose 7% annually.
