Gross mortgage lending drops in January

by Aaron Strutt

Feb 11 2015

The Council of Mortgage Lenders estimates that gross mortgage lending reached £14.3 billion in January.

This represents a 14% decrease from December’s gross lending total (£16.6 billion) and is 11% lower than the £16.1 billion lent in January last year.

CML chief economist Bob Pannell explains: "The softer pace of approvals through the second half of last year contributed to the relatively weak pace of mortgage lending in January.

“Although seasonal factors will continue to weigh on activity levels for a while longer, we expect the underlying picture to pick up over the coming months, in line with stronger earnings and employment, gentle interest rate trends and recent stamp duty changes.

“As we forecast at the end of last year, gross mortgage lending remains on course to reach an expected £222 billion this year.”