Building society mortgage lending flat in November

Tuesday, 5 Jan 2010, 2:02pm
Building society mortgage lending flat in November

There was little change in the level of mortgage lending by building societies in November, according to new research.

Mortgage lending by building societies was largely unmoved in November from the previous month, it was suggested yesterday (January 4th).

According to new figures from the Building Societies Association (BSA), gross lending was £1.6 billion, which was comparable with the total of £1.7 billion for October.

There is traditionally a dip between the two months when seasonal adjustments are taken into account, but on this occasion an identical figure of £1.5 billion was recorded for both.

However, the November performance still represents a significant decline from the equivalent period 12 months earlier, when building society gross lending hit £2.51 billion.

Adrian Coles, director general of the BSA, warned that the figures should be viewed with caution, as any significant recovery in mortgage lending is unlikely to occur before 2011.

"Although the housing market has stabilised slightly in recent months following the drop in activity at the start of the year, lending is still at lower levels than a year ago," he said.

"Funding conditions for all lenders are improving slowly, but these are still acting as a brake on lending, as is the relatively small number of properties coming to market.

"Lending activity is likely to remain relatively depressed in 2010 until funding and supply conditions improve."

The BSA research also found that mortgages approved by building societies amounted to £1.29 billion, which was considerably lower than the November 2008 figure of £2.171 billion.

Last month, the BSA released its new UK Housing Review 2009-10 report in conjunction with the Chartered Institute of Housing.

One of the main recommendations made by the authors of the study was that the government should do everything in its power this year to stem rising repossession levels.
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