Mortgage Lending Falls

UK Mortgage Market Weakens

The Brisith Bankers Association has confirmed that the mortgage market, which had been seen as slowly strengthening, weakened in March 2009.

The number of mortgages approved which is a yardstick of the health of the housing market, fell by 6.8% and continued to be significantly down on 2008 (25%).  The numbers seem to suggest that we have not yet reached the bottom of the housing price fall.

David Dooks, BBAs Direcotr of Statistics commented "Consumer confidence is fragile and unlikely to change demand markedly in the near-term, the banks' figures also show it would be unrealistic to expect the mortgage market to recover in a steady and consistent way in the current economic environment."

"We are not at the bottom of the market for house price falls, we have some way to go," he added.

On the back of recent positive signs that house prices were starting to stabalise, the BBA satatistics are not neccessarily a strong blow to the market but do highlight the inconsistent nature of the mortgage market during this recession.