Total gross mortgage lending in July increased to £16.6 billion, a rise of 29 per cent compared to the same month last year and up 12 per cent since June, according to figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML).
This is the highest monthly estimate for gross lending since October 2008 (£18.6 billion).
Commenting on market conditions, CML market and data analyst Caroline Purdey observes:
“An improvement in sentiment and activity continues to show in the UK housing and mortgage markets, with a more positive picture also starting to emerge in the economy.
“Our forward estimate of gross mortgage lending in July reinforces a growing evidence base of a strengthening in the housing and mortgage markets.”
However, Duncan Kreeger, director of peer-to-peer bridging lender, comments, “This is just a brief morsel of comfort for those trying to squeeze support from traditional lenders. But it is important – it demonstrates how mainstream finance has made no progress at all for half a decade. In fact things have gone backwards.
“This is 12 per cent worse than the average monthly figure for 2008, so the big banks aren’t even treading water. Given that these very same lenders have already received more than £16 billion from Funding for Lending, a bigger total for July wouldn’t have been unreasonable.
“With high street lending going backwards, it’s no surprise individuals and businesses alike are turning to alternative finance, especially given the high street’s nervous approach – lending only to the plainest, risk-free projects. Meanwhile, we’re seeing milestone after milestone whizz by. And with mainstream banks still stuck in their old ways, shedding market share as they go, this is only set to continue.”
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