Mortgage loans up as recovery stays on track
UK MORTGAGE lending rose in January, compared with the same month of 2011 – the sixth consecutive month of year-on-year growth, according to data out yesterday from the Council for Mortgage Lenders (CML).
The CML figures showed lending was up 10 per cent, and the Mortgage Advice Bureau (MAB) corroborated the jump this morning, publishing data showing the number of mortgage applications rose 25.8 per cent on January 2011.
Gross mortgage lending hit £10.5bn in January, up from £9.5bn a year ago but lower than the £12.2bn in December, CML said.
Buy-to-let mortgages have also been improving, edging up their share of the market to nearly 13 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2011, CML said.
The average loan to value of mortgages stood at 72 per cent, and the average deposit rose to £56,167 from £52,284 last January, MAB reported.
“The new year has started comparatively positively in spite of the generally negative economic situation and low levels of consumer confidence,” said Brian Murphy from MAB.