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Mortgage lending held steady in July

Christina Hoghton
Written By:
Posted:
26/08/2016
Updated:
25/08/2016

Despite Brexit, lending was robust in July compared to June

Mortgage lending was stable in July reaching an estimated £21.4bn, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML).

This closely matches June’s lending total of £21.5bn and is just 1% lower than July last year (£21.6bn).

CML chief economist Bob Pannell said: “The subdued nature of property transactions and mortgage lending in July are consistent with a less positive backdrop for house purchase activity post-referendum.

“The Bank of England expects stronger economic headwinds to build as we move into 2017, and the Monetary Policy Committee’s package of monetary policy measures represents a spirited effort to lean against these on a timely basis. The MPC has pencilled in a further cut in Bank Rate later this year, but aims to avoid negative interest rate territory.”

Henry Woodcock, principal mortgage consultant at IRESS, said the market was getting back to business as usual: “After the EU referendum the housing and mortgage markets largely shook off the short-term uncertainty and quickly got back to business as usual.

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“While the overall picture is stable, an interesting and unexpected regional housing outcome from Brexit is that there appears to be a ‘confidence correlation’ between areas that voted to remain compared to those that voted to leave. There seems to have been a positive effect on the housing market in the areas of the Country that voted for Brexit whereas areas that voted ‘Remain’ have seen a corresponding dip in activity.”