Mortgage lending starts to pick up

Over the past year mortgage lending in the UK has remained very subdued, having gone through a very turbulent and difficult period after the global financial crisis and recession wreaked havoc across the nation’s financial markets. Many people have struggled to get a mortgage over the past year or two, which has resulted in fewer people being able to buy property and far more people having to rent a home.

However, there is some good news on the horizon as recent reports have revealed that mortgage lending levels have increased for a third month in a row, sparking hopes that property sales could start to increase as a result of this. Approvals are now said to be 3 percent higher than they were in July of last year, which is promising news. However, many first time buyers will still struggle to find a deposit for a mortgage, which will continue to cause a problem on the mortgage and property markets.

Despite this news, figures relating to property sales have shown that so far this year property sales have been stagnating. Figures were released by HM Revenue and Customs, showing that in July there were 79,000 property sales. This was the highest number of sales so far this year according to the figures but it was still a lower figure than a year ago.

One economist said that compared to long term trends and norms housing activity was still very low at present despite increases in mortgage approvals.

He said: “With consumer confidence weak and the economic outlook currently looking pretty grim, we see little reason to change our view that modest falls in house prices are more likely than not over the coming months.”

Tags: home, economist, recession, outlook, July, property