Mortgaged lending stagnates

Permalink: Mortgaged lending stagnates
by Gill Montia

Mortgage lending continued to flat line in November, with approvals for house purchases at 52,854, Bank of England figures show.

The total showed little change on October’s but managed to stay above the previous six-month average (50,266).

Remortgaging activity declined, with lenders approving only 31,154 home loans in November, compared with a previous six-month average of 32,448.

Approvals for other purposes, such as equity release, were little changed at 20,845, with the total broadly in line with the previous six-month average.

The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) is expecting around 825,000 homes to change hands in 2012, as the year ahead sees 27,000 fewer sales than in 2011.

The body has also warned that pressures on household finances are likely to reverse any improvements in mortgage arrears and repossessions recorded over the last two years.

The current CML forecast is for 45,000 repossessions in 2012, up from an estimated 37,000 in 2011.