There were fewer loans extended to consumers looking to buy a house last November, new CML data shows.
Lending to home buyers went down 12 per cent compared to October and 7 per cent compared to November 2013. The total value of loans summed up to £9.2 billion, a drop of 13 per cent on a monthly and of 1 per cent on an annual basis.
A slowdown is normal for the winter months and is not surprising given the major changes the industry went through in the past twelve months and the cooler general mood on the market, Paul Smee, director general of the CML, said.
“Our forecasts are for gross lending to continue to grow over the next two years and this reflects our belief that there are more stable conditions in the market than a year ago,” he commented.
First-time buyers received 11 per cent fewer loans from lenders as compared to October. The total amount advanced reached £3.8 billion, which was a 12 per cent fall on a monthly basis, but an increase of 6 per cent from last year.
Last November was particularly tough for people moving home, as lenders advanced only 29,700 loans in total, down 13 per cent on October and 10 per cent on November 2013.
Loans for remortgages were also down both on the previous month and on the year, by 8 per cent and 16 per cent respectively.
On the buy-to-let market things looked better, with landlords getting 9 per cent more loans than a year earlier. However, in a monthly comparison the number of loans still declined, by 10 per cent.
