New mortgage loan numbers remain well below those of last year, according to lenders.
Mortgage lending in the UK remains subdued, a report released today showed.
The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) said in its latest market data that a total of 47,000 mortgage loans were advanced to buyers in July - the same amount as in June. The body said that home loans firms were continuing to turn down many potential buyers, as credit crunch conditions continue.
According to the data, loan numbers for July declined by 51 percent over the same month last year, while the value of these mortgages was found to have eroded by 54 percent during the same period. Typical loan-to-value ratios, in other words, the level of the initial deposit put in to the property by the buyer, were also down two percent to 85 percent.
This means that the average buyer in July had a deposit of 15 percent, the highest amount for around 20 years and indicative of the risk-averse attitude currently shared by Britain's mortgage lenders.
CML director general, Michael Coogan, commented: "Tighter lending criteria have clearly made it more difficult for first-time buyers to enter the market. Restoring the flow of funding to the mortgage market is crucial to helping the housing market recovery and we look forward to the findings of the Crosby Review at the end of the month."
