The Council of Mortgage Lenders has revealed that there was a small increase in mortgage lending in February - but activity still remains 'very weak'.
February saw an increase in mortgage lending of four percent, according to the latest figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML).
The month saw 24,300 house purchase loans awarded, with a total value of £3.1 billion. This was up from January's number of 23,400, which also had a combined value of £3.1 billion.
However, the CML warned that mortgage activity is still low when compared with previous years. February's total was roughly one-third of the average figure of 76,000 seen between 2002 and 2007.
"Recent mortgage approvals figures published by the Bank of England show some signs of improvement at the beginning of the borrowing process, although activity is at a very low level historically," said CML director general Michael Coogan. "We are not convinced that underlying trends have shifted sufficiently to change our forecasts for mortgage market activity in 2009, but there are some positive signs for later in the year."
Mr Coogan called on the government to introduce more measures to encourage mortgage lending in the forthcoming Budget. His words were echoed by Robert Sinclair, the director of the Association of Mortgage Intermediaries, who said that chancellor of the exchequer Alistair Darling must "grasp the tiller and provide direction" for the sector.
