Mortgage lending 'will start slow before picking up'
Mortgage lending 'slow before recovery'
Friday, 19, Feb 2010 09:00
Mortgage lending will be slow at the start of this year, but is expected to pick up, according to one expert.
Property purchases are likely to be at a lower level in the first few months of 2010, following a boost in December when buyers move to take advantage of the stamp duty concession, explained Bernard Clarke, spokesman for the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML).
"We are still in a market in which it is not as competitive as it was and those circumstances will only improve very slowly," he commented.
Mr Clarke called for measures to address the shortage of mortgage funding, pointing out that recovery in the property market will be slow if the £300 billion shortfall is not made up.
More than half (58 per cent) of mortgage brokers expect to see an increase in business in the first three months of this year, research from Paragon Mortgages has revealed. On average, they are predicting a rise of 7.1 per cent.