Mortgage lending at record high

Posted: 21 Feb 2007 09:58:59 GMT

Overall mortgage lending rose to a seasonal record during January, the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has said

Overall mortgage lending rose to a seasonal record during January, the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has said.

Total lending hit £26.8 billion in January, 16 per cent up on the same month in 2006, despite being six per cent down on the £28.5 billion reached in December.

The figures were confirmed by a Building Society Association (BSA) report showing that mortgage approvals and lending hit a seasonal record in December.

Economists said that an increase in interest rates in January has not yet affected property lending, although early indicators show that credit card borrowing has been reined in.

"Indications of a slowing [housing] market are not coming through in building society mortgage figures yet," said BSA business economist Andrew Gill.

"We may continue to see robust mortgage figures in the near future, but expect these to fall back as the impact of recent rate rises feeds through."

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