Lending Figures Up For April But Down Year On Year
Those looking for even the merest snippet of good news in the UK lending market would have been glad to see lending figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) which showed an increase of 9% in the number of mortgages approved in April against the previous month. However, the actually year on year figure is down from 80,500 in April last year to 50,700 in April 2008, a substantial fall.
It seems that the first time buyers market is an area which is coming under particular pressure with more lenders now asking for higher deposits and stricter guidelines forcing many home buyers to think again. While the number of first time buyer mortgages rose by 4% between March and April, the figure is down 36% from the same period last year.
Even the most optimistic of observes in the sector now admit that the situation it likely to get much worse before it gets any better with finance costs climbing in the money markets. One of the boom areas of the UK economy over the last few years, home ownership, has seen a sharp reversal in recent months. Quite where or when the sector will ‘bottom out’ remains to be seen.
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