|
News Index
Next
Previous
The housing market showed the first signs of renewed weakness last month, the in demand for home loans easing, according to figures released recently.
According to the British Bankers' Association (BBA), net mortgage lending rose by £4.4 bilion in February, down from a £4.6 billion increase in January and an average of £4.8 billion each month during the past six months.
David Dooks, Director of Statistics at the BBA commented: "Just as we did not
regard the above-trend rises in the major banks' net mortgage lending towards
the end of 2005 as heralding a sustained upturn in mortgage market activity, we
do not now see the moderately weaker figures since as signalling a downturn,
particularly with reports of house prices picking up in 2006 so far.
"Analysts said the unexpected dip in lending suggested property is becoming too
expensive for many buyers. The figures also indicated that consumers continue to
be wary about piling up debt on their credit cards. The £200 million rise in
credit card lending was in line with the average of the past six months.
"Behind these monthly fluctuations, mortgage lending is on a stable trend,
though not at the high 2004 levels."
Source:
Getting Paid
|
