Mortgage approvals spike in March

Wednesday, 20 April 2011 10:50

Figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders reveal a double-digit rise in mortgage lending during March.

Over the course of the month, mortgage providers handed out more than a fifth (21 per cent) more funds to borrowers than in February.

The increase puts the month broadly in line with the previous year, at just two per cent down over the previous 12 months.

In March 2010, gross mortgage lending reached £11.5 billion, while the same month of this year saw £11.3 billion lent.

Jonathan Samuels, chief executive officer of Dragonfly Property Finance, says a flat market is likely to continue into 2012.

"Mortgage lending may be up in March, but it's still down in historical terms," he observes.

"We certainly don't see this as the beginning of a trend, given current conditions."

He points out that activity is largely limited to those with sizeable deposits or the cash to cover the full purchase price of a property, whereas high loan-to-value mortgage lending remains constrained.

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