A record mortgage month for september

Latest data from the CML (Council of Mortgage Lenders) shows gross mortgage lending hitting a new September record of £29.5 billion. This was down by 11% on the all-time record reached in August of £33 billion, but up by 7% on September last year (£27.6 billion).

CML Director General, Michael Coogan, notes that housing demand and mortgage approvals in May and June this year were particularly strong and this supported the record levels of lending during the summer months. The lower levels of lending in September must be seen against this backdrop.

House price growth and mortgage approvals continue to remain strong and the CML expects to see continued levels of robust lending over the coming months. "But with financial markets now expecting a further interest rate rise, we anticipate a slow down in house sales and mortgage approvals as we move into 2007," says Coogan.

Meanwhile, new figures from the Major British Banking Groups - comprising the likes of Abbey, Alliance & Leicester, Barclays, Bradford & Bingley, HBOS, HSBC Bank, Lloyds TSB, Northern Rock and The Royal Bank of Scotland - show total net lending rising by an underlying £5.375 billion in September, compared to £5.610 billion in August and £5.268 billion in September 2005.

Of the total, mortgage lending accounted for £5.411 billion of the rise, compared to August's increase of £5.872 billion.

Elsewhere, consumer credit fell by £15 million overall; personal loans & overdrafts rose by a weak £63 million compared with August's rise of £244 million, while credit card lending fell by an underlying £76 million compared with a fall of £496 million in August and an average monthly fall of £222 million over the previous six months.

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