Mortgage lending rises
Gross mortgage lending rose four per cent on the year to £12.9bn in September, the Council of Mortgage Lenders said, although it said the level of housing market activity was subdued.
The CML said gross lending in the third quarter of this year to £38.6bn, up 15 per cent from the second quarter, and two per cent higher on the year.
“Both house purchase and remortgage lending appear to have fared well in September, but this is against the backdrop of subdued levels of activity,” said CML chief economist Bob Pannell.
“However, short-term economic prospects for the UK are not favourable. The housing market is very sensitive to wider household confidence, and this seems likely to weaken over the coming months in response to the latest spike in consumer prices and headline unemployment figures.”