Mortgage lending falls again

Mortgage lending in the UK fell to £12 billion in September which is the lowest September figure since back in 2000. It is also a 1% reduction from the August figure and a 7% reduction on the same period in 2009, which again illustrates the difficult situation for the UK mortgage market, UK property market and UK homebuyers.

There are growing concerns that the UK property market is starting to struggle and indeed we could see repossessions pick up again in the medium term. Problems in the US have also added to concerns where the authorities have announced an investigation into the foreclosures market amid concerns that some banks may have bypassed legal necessities and overlooked various procedures. There is no suggestion of such activity in the UK market but all of this confusion and uncertainty does nothing to put a floor on the money markets and give investors reasons to invest.

It seems unlikely at this moment in time, given the economic backdrop, that we can really expect UK mortgage lending to recover in the latter part of 2010. Analysts are now looking towards 2011 and we should very soon start to see revised figures and revised forecasts for the future.