Mortgage lending rose in February
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The Council of Mortgage Lenders has revealed that gross mortgage lending hit £9.2bn in February, up from £8.7bn in January.
The trade body says that an increase in lending in the shortest month is unusual but less so this year, given that the end of the Stamp Duty holiday distorted figures considerably throughout December and January.
Lending in February was down 6% on £9.7bn a year earlier but the first two months of this year are broadly in line with the CML’s forecast for lending of £150bn for 2010 as a whole.
Paul Samter, economist at the CML, says: “We expect to see some improvement as confidence grows and we get past the election. The funding markets, while better than a year ago, remain tough. This will limit the flow of housing finance.”
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