Record levels of mortgage lending in 2006

Posted: 22 Jan 2007 11:29:25 GMT

Building society mortgage lending reached a record £52.8 billion in 2006, according to new figures from the Building Societies Association.

Building society mortgage lending hit the record level of £52.8 billion in 2006, new figures from the Building Societies Association (BSA) show.

Gross advances from building societies for mortgages reached £3,970 million in December 2006, compared with £3,614 million in December 2005, while mortgage approvals totalled £3,962 million in December 2006, up from £3,154 million in 2005.

However, net mortgage lending declined in December 2006 from the highs seen in previous months and was down year-on-year by 32.3 per cent.

Director-general of the BSA Adrian Coles said: "The strength of the housing market could have been one of the factors which influenced the Bank of England's decision to put rates up last week; to take the heat in the housing market down a few degrees.

"It is likely that the impact of interest rate rises will continue to feed through, dampening demand. However, we predict building societies will still have a successful 2007."

Figures from the British Bankers' Association also showed a strong mortgage market for 2006, with net mortgage lending rising by £66.8 billion over the year.


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