In July, there were 94,000 loans for house purchases, totalling £14.8 billion and 92,000 remortgage loans totalling £11.5 billion.
However, the figures showed that lending not related to purchase and remortgage – primarily further advances and buy-to-let – rose to its highest ever value of £7.8 billion. This accounted for 23 per cent of the total – the highest ever proportion.
The CML added that the number of loans to first-time buyers fell by 7 per cent from June to 32,400, while the value fell by 4 per cent to £4.4 billion.
Michael Coogan, director-general of the CML, said: “A slight fall in lending between June and July has emerged for the third year in a row, so of course we cannot read too much into a single month’s figures. But the long-anticipated slowdown in the housing and mortgage markets may now be beginning to materialise.
“The Monetary Policy Committee’s decision to hold rates was exactly as expected. Both market conditions and sentiment are coming off the boil, and affordability is ever more stretched, but consumers should not expect any immediate easing in the financial pressures they face.”
Nick Hanson, director of Hanson Financial Management, said: “The credit crunch has added anxiety to home owners on the back of five interest rate rises. It’s been a double whammy and could be a triple hit if house prices start to go down. People are feeling more insecure and that is feeding through to buyers, so we are going to see a lot more caution.”
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