Mortage lending falls

Posted: 01 May 2007 11:07:17 GMT

New British Bankers' Association (BBA) statistics show that the mortgage market has experienced a slowdown.

New British Bankers' Association (BBA) statistics show that the mortgage market has experienced a slowdown.

Figures published by the organisation yesterday indicated that the both overall amount of lending and the total number of mortgages has fallen over the past year.

In March 2007, the number of homebuyer mortgages agreed, just over 75,000, was 10,000 less than the same month a year earlier, while the underlying net increase in lending was up £5.1 billion, the same as February but less than the £5.5 billion monthly average for the last six months.

David Dooks, the director of statistics for the BBA, said a notable trend was the increase in people taking out fixed-rate mortgages as protection against interest rate rises.

However, he added: "In the last two months net lending has risen less sharply and, compared to the same time last year, the number of mortgages approved in March was lower, indicating that weaker demand is starting to emerge."

The Bank of England's monetary policy committee is widely expected to raise interest rates again at its monthly meeting on May 10th.



© Houseladder Ltd