Gross mortgage lending estimated at £20.6 billion in October

17th November 2016
Gross mortgage lending held steady in October and was an estimated £20.6 billion, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML). This closely matches September’s gross lending total of £20.5 billion and is 5% lower than October last year (£21.8 billion).

 

Commenting on market conditions in this month’s market commentary, CML senior economist Mohammad Jamei said “Housing market sentiment is holding up well, with demand still strong. This has led to a pick up in approvals, as expected. The more pressing issue is on the supply side, where the lack of private sellers continues to be an obstacle for would-be borrowers. For this reason, we expect lending in the months ahead to be driven more by remortgaging activity and less by house purchases. Remortgaging will be helped by competitively priced mortgage deals, which are encouraging borrowers to refinance.”

The CML’s full market commentary can be found here.