U.K. Mortgage Lending Gives Further Negative Sign
February 18th, 2010
The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) reported a slump in mortgage lending for January following on from the atypical surge of the previous month. December’s relative rush came as buyers tried to beat a new-year tax increase.
Gross lending for January 2010, at £9.1 billion, came in at the lowest monthly level since February 2000; a third down on December and 21% down year on year.
The housing market as a whole was hit hard by recession, which belies the recent monthly property value rises. These rises in price have more to do with a lack of properties for sale than they do with any imminent recovery; it has also been aided of course, by the continuing low interest rates.
