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Mortgage lending slumped in April compared to March

Christina Hoghton
Written By:
Christina Hoghton
Posted:
Updated:
26/05/2017

Lending is pulled down by low home mover and buy-to-let volumes

Mortgage lending reached £18.4 billion in April, a significant 11% lower than March’s lending total of £20.7 billion, said the Council of Mortgage Lenders.

However, this was still 4% higher than the £17.7 billion lent in April last year, when the Stamp Duty surcharge kicked in for landlords and buy-to-let lending plummeted as a result.

CML senior economist Mohammad Jamei said: “First-time buyers and remortgage customers appear to be buoying the market, as low mortgage rates are encouraging borrowers to remortgage and attractive government schemes are helping first-time buyers. We expect this trend to continue over the coming months.

“Home movers are having less luck. Their activity has been subdued for some time now and the low number of movers means fewer properties for sale. This supply and demand imbalance will continue to underpin house price values, even as the rate of price rises slows.”

Mark Dyason, director of UK-wide independent mortgage broker, Edinburgh Mortgage Advice, added: “The lack of homes for sale has certainly resulted in many people shelving the idea of looking altogether. Rarely have stock levels been as low as they are at present.
 
“For many would-be buyers, there’s nothing on the market that excites them. What pickings there are, are slim.”