19
Apr
Mortgage lending 'up in March'
Last month, the UK saw a rise in mortgage lending, new figures
reveal.
Produced by the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML), the statistics
show that loan advances for home purchase were up 24 per cent on
the preceding month.
Whereas £11.5 billion worth of finance was provided over the
31-day period, the lower amount of £9.3 billion was agreed in
February.
Responding to the figures, Paul Samter, an economist at the CML -
which claims to represent around 94 per cent of UK residential
mortgage lending - said the housing market has improved since the
height of the recession.
He added: "With the gradually improving economic backdrop and
interest rates still low, we continue to expect a gentle
improvement in market conditions later in the year."
Earlier this month, the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee
voted to keep the country's base rate of interest at 0.5 per cent,
a decision that had been widely expected.
