February saw fall in mortgage lending

According to a recent report February saw a fall of 7% in mortgage lending levels, with the amount being borrowed falling from £25.9 billion in January to £24 billion in February. This is further evidence of the mortgage and housing meltdown that has been taking place across the UK since the global credit crunch swept across the nation.

Following these figures officials from the Council of Mortgage Lenders have said that the housing market is currently going through a slow phase, but have stated that this could continue unless the government takes further action to try and address the issue.

The recent cash injection that has been provided to the money markets by the government was described as a ’step in the right direction’ by CML officials, but the CML has made it clear that it wants additional intervention from the government in order to ease the situation, adding that “a programme of more aggressive, broader-based intervention would be entirely appropriate for the Bank in the current environment of uncertainty.”

The CML went on to state: “Demand for mortgages remains strong but cannot be fully met from existing funding. This has led many lenders to reduce their product ranges, increase their mortgage prices and, in some cases, to reduce their lending capacity.”