CML: Mortgage lending down in November

Date:Friday 19th December 2008
Author: Max Freedman

Gross mortgage lending dropped by 51 per cent between November 2007 and November this year, new figures show.

The data from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) also showed that November's lending figures represented a 22 per cent decrease from October.

According to the CML, November usually sees a fall from the previous month, but this year the drop was steeper than usual.

Michael Coogan, CML director general, predicted that the housing market would stay "subdued" in 2009 and also that there will be a rise in mortgage arrears as unemployment increases.

In 2009, the CML also foresees gross mortgage lending to be about £145 billion, a drop from this year's figure of about £258 billion.

Net lending is expected to become negative as people pay more on existing loans than they borrow in new ones.

The Association of Mortgage Intermediaries proclaimed itself "surprised" by the CML's gross lending figure prediction and called on the government to work fast towards implementing the policies set out by Sir James Crosby to stimulate the mortgage finance markets.