Mortgage lending has positive month

Thursday, 29 March 2012 10:46

February saw a dramatic year-on-year increase in mortgage lending according to new UK figures.

The Building Societies Association recorded a 28 per cent increase in lending last month from building societies and mutual lenders.

New mortgage approvals were also up by 31 per cent in February following the increase of 29 per cent in January.

"Gross lending and new mortgage approvals by mutuals continued to rise year-on-year in February, despite growth across the market as a whole remaining relatively flat,” Adrian Coles, director-general of the Building Societies Association said.

“The strong financial results released by a number of mutual lenders in recent months show that the sector is well positioned to offer market leading products to its customers and are open for business. "

But household budgets are still under pressure as unemployment rises and incomes decline.

This comes at the same time that Nationwide releases its House Price Index showing a one per cent drop across the UK.

A typical home in the UK now costs £163,327 and this figure is forecast to drop further as the industry sees a slowdown following the end of the stamp duty holiday for first-time buyers.
 

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