The buoyant housing market pushed mortgage lending up to record levels during 2001, with gross advances rising by 34 per cent to £161 billion and net lending up by 32 per cent to £55 billion, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders annual report.
The report revealed that CML members now hold over 11 million mortgages worth over £600 billion and that owner-occupiers currently constitute over two-thirds of householders in the UK.
The CML also highlighted its own successes over the past year including convincing the Treasury to reconsider its proposals for the statutory regulation of mortgages.
A different set of proposals are currently under consideration, which the CML said would ‘help sustain consumer confidence, without placing an unneccesary burden on the industry and consumers.’
The CML’s other achievements included increased sales of mortgage protection insurance, research into speeding-up the home-buying process and measures intended to ensure greater security for the owners of mortgaged property.
The CML also worked to enable the smoother development of new methods of mortgage funding, including those which allowed early mortgage repayment.
CML director general, Michael Coogan said: “The CML continues to work for an operating environment in which the mortgage industry can flourish. Much has been achieved but there is still more to do to ensure that the mortgage and housing markets continue to prosper and are sustainable in the future for the industry and its customers.”
