Mortgage Lending Down

The latest figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) show that home loan lending is unseasonably low, with figures down 21 per cent on this time last year.

Gross mortgage lending for June was £23.8 million compared to £34.9 million for the same month last year. Changes between the first and second quarter of 2008 have been marginal at one per cent.

During the first three months of 2008, £75.1 million worth of mortgages were borrowed in the UK, compared to £74.4 million in the second quarter ending in June.

This quarter-to-quarter downturn contrasts with figures from last year when mortgage lending for quarter one stood at almost £84 million and lending for the second quarter was up by £10 million at £94 million.

Michael Coogan, director general of the CML, explained that funding shortages at banks and building societies as well as a lack of consumer demand has had an impact on lending.

"Market activity during a traditionally a busy time of year for mortgages has been muted by funding shortages and, more recently, dampened consumer demand," he explained.