Gross mortgage lending down 51% on the year

The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has reported that gross mortgage lending in November stood at around £14.6 billion.

During the month, the value of home loans provided by CML members fell 22% on October and 51% on November of 2007.

The Council points out that while there is typically a decline in gross lending from October to November, the fall is considerably larger than usual.

This it attributes to market disruption and a continued deterioration in confidence in the UK economy.

The CML’s director general, Michael Coogan, is predicting that the UK housing market will remain extremely subdued in 2009 and that net mortgage lending (gross lending minus repayments and redemptions) is likely to turn negative.

Mr Coogan also expects repayment problems to worsen against the backdrop of rising unemployment, although he points out that lenders and the Government are working to try to reduce the negative impact of this on borrowers.

Finally, the director general acknowledges that recent glimmers of light in terms of government intervention to support new lending are helpful, but stresses that more will need to be done in 2009.

Earlier this month the CML predicted that repossessions could reach 75,000 in 2009.

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