Fastest lift in mortgage lending for five years
MORTGAGE lending soared to £17.6bn last month as the UK’s housing market continued to heat up, marking the steepest annual jump since 2008.
The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) revealed yesterday that gross lending was up nine per cent from September, and an eye-watering 37 per cent higher than in October 2012.
The last time it recorded faster year-on-year mortgage loan growth was in October 2008.
The boost can be attributed to higher loan-to-value (LTV) mortgages being agreed, according to Richard Sexton of the chartered surveyor group E.surv.
“High LTV lending is 80 per cent higher than last October,” Sexton said.
The launch of the second stage of the government’s Help to Buy scheme has drawn more buyers into the market, Sexton added.