Peter Williams is executive director of the Intermediary Mortgage Lenders Association
Today’s CML figure means we are approaching six months where gross lending figures have consistently grown on a monthly basis – a sure sign that the housing market has turned a corner.
With the Funding for Lending Scheme in its second year, there is a real sense of expectation among lenders that the second half of this year will see even greater activity in the market.
Indeed gross lending for the first six months now stands at over £75bn.
Given the third quarter is typically the strongest we might reasonably expect gross lending for 2013 to exceed £160 billion, sharply up on the £142.5bn in 2012.
As the market strengthens it is also noticeable that more consumers are turning to brokers for advice about the range of borrowing options available.
This is sensible because of the new MMR-compliant requirements lenders are introducing in advance of April 2014.
Applications often fail because of tighter requirements and brokers are expert in knowing how best to assemble the information and the requirements of specific lenders.
A lot is riding on the Help to Buy mortgage guarantee to break down the deposit barrier but with an increasingly diverse range of options available expert guidance can often help consumers find a mortgage to suit their needs.
