Mortgages hit by Eurozone crisis
Mortgages and other loans could become more expensive but less available if the Eurozone crisis persists, a lenders' group has said.
The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) said that ‘short-term prospects for the housing market were linked to the upheaval’; leading to Brokers mentioning that borrowers should remain alert to the potential effect.
Mortgage lending fell away in April after a stamp duty concession led to a boost of activity earlier in the year, as shown in CML figures. A 19% fall on March where gross mortgage lending stood at an estimated £10.2bn during April; however, the figure was 2% higher than in April 2011.
The CML recently reported a point in mortgage lending in March, but also expected that lending levels would fall away. Some first-time buyers were thought to have finalised sales in March to beat the end of the stamp duty holiday, where properties valued up to £250,000 were exempt from paying 1% stamp duty until 24 March.
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