Mortgage lending reaches highest point since pre-financial crisis

Gross mortgage lending reached its highest point in September since before the financial crisis hit in 2007, according to the council of Mortgage lenders (CML).

The CML estimate that gross mortgage lending reached £20.5bn in September this year, the highest its been since £29.9bn in September 2007. Compared to the September 2015 the figure is 2% higher, however it is 7% lower than it was in the previous month ..

Gross mortgage lending for the third quarter of 2016 was estimated at £63.6bn, which is 11% higher than the second quarter of this year and 4% higher than the third quarter of 2015.

CML senior economist Mohammad Jamei said: “Remortgage activity looks set to grow, helped by attractively priced mortgage deals encouraging borrowers to refinance. Prospects for house purchase activity continue to look slightly subdued, when compared to the same period a year ago.

Despite this, housing market sentiment continued to improve in September, after recovering in August. As a result, we expect a modest rise in approvals, though at levels lower than seen earlier this year, as the lack of properties on the market for sale and affordability constraints continue to bear down on borrowers.”