CML: Gross mortage lending declines in April

Gross mortgage lending declined to an estimated £10.2 billion in April. Lending fell by 19% from £12.6 billion in March but was 2% higher than the total of £10.0 billion in April 2011, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders.

In today’s CML market commentary, CML chief economist Bob Pannell comments:

"Mortgage lending activity has been relatively buoyant in recent months, with stronger lending for house purchase underpinning the more upbeat lending picture.

"The underlying picture is likely to be a bit stronger than the April figure suggests, because some first-time buyers are likely to have brought forward their transactions to March to take advantage of the stamp duty concession that was coming to an end.

"Eurozone developments are highly uncertain and have the potential to undermine UK economic prospects and conditions in our housing and mortgage markets. The underlying picture is likely to be one of easing momentum in the housing market, but with potential for a sharper downwards correction on bad eurozone news."

DOCUMENTS ATTACHED

Gross mortgage lending table – April 2012

NOTES TO EDITORS

1. The Council of Mortgage Lenders' members are banks, building societies and other lenders who together undertake around 95% of all residential mortgage lending in the UK. There are 11.3 million mortgages in the UK, with loans worth over £1.2 trillion.

2. The Council of Mortgage Lenders does not publish statistics for mortgage approvals. The data in our monthly Regulated Mortgage Survey and gross lending press releases relate to mortgage advances only. A mortgage approval is the firm offer to a customer of a specific amount of credit secured against a particular property. A mortgage advance is the total amount of loan actually provided to the buyer, by the lender.

3. Next month’s gross lending press release and market commentary will be published on 21 June 2012.

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