The figure was 14% higher than the £9.4bn of gross mortgage lending in February last year.
Bob Pannell, chief economist at the CML, said: “Although a seasonal decline is expected over the winter months, our forward estimates suggest that February was the seventh month in a row of higher year-on-year lending. This indicates that lending for house purchase remains brisk in advance of the ending of the stamp duty concession.
“The launch of the NewBuy scheme is an important addition to lenders’ toolkit in addressing the various needs of would-be borrowers.”
Pannell added that the scheme had the potential to offset the dip in first-time buyer activity that the end of the stamp duty concession on 24 March may produce.
Michael Coogan, strategic adviser at Deloitte’s financial services practice, said: “The new mortgage figures in the first quarter of 2012 have been buoyed in advance of the removal of the stamp duty exemption.
“The eyes of the mortgage industry will be on whether the Budget contains measures to maintain this stimulus and support the government’s housing strategy to increase new house building and transaction numbers through the rest of the year.”
David Whittaker, managing director of Mortgages for Business, agreed that the real test would come in the months following the Budget.
He however said that schemes like NewBuy, while well intentioned, would simply not do enough to maintain the momentum required to keep the market on an upward trajectory.
He said: “Inflation may be coming down but it’s still cripplingly difficult for buyers to raise deposits let alone stamp duty provisions. Once again we’ll see scores of would-be buyers relying on private rental accommodation, the supply of which is already stretched as tight as Greece’s balance sheet and property investors and professional landlords will be relied upon to bridge the property gap.
“Much more needs to be done to find balance in the property sector’s recovery rather than focussing on one or two areas.
“Unfortunately, the Treasury seems intent on grinding the gear-stick to try and find any gear rather than looking for long-term measures that will support all elements of the market.”
David Brown, commercial director of LSL Property Services, suggested that lenders had acclimatised to the constrained funding environment as lending figures had grown annually for seven consecutive months.
He said: “If lending holds up after the stamp duty holiday, this will demonstrate the relative stability of the market.”
Brown however said that despite the context of the approaching stamp duty deadline, the impact of the growing buy-to-let sector of the market should not be underestimated.
He added: “While the challenging economic conditions are likely to impact on the pace of any significant recovery in lending in the short-term, an ebullient buy-to-let market will continue to underpin the wider mortgage market as the year progresses.”
Richard Sexton, director of e.surv chartered surveyors, said: “It might be the seventh straight month of growth in year-on-year gross lending, but that doesn’t mean it is seventh heaven yet for the mortgage market.
“Lending in 2010 and 2011 was so weak that they represent poor comparators by which to judge the current health of the market. The economy is beginning to thaw after a difficult winter but the recovery is still on unstable ground.”
Sexton turned to lending to borrowers with deposits under 15% as an indicator for lending appetite.
He said: “Lending to borrowers with deposits of under 15% accounted for just 11% of all loans in February, suggesting lenders are still reluctant to lend to poorer borrowers in significant volumes. In the medium term we can expect higher rates and moderate lending to first-time buyers.
“In the upcoming Budget, the government needs to stop focusing purely on austerity. Fiscal austerity has won the confidence of the bond markets and that gives Osborne license to inject investment into the mortgage and housing markets.
“He also needs to encourage non-banking UK companies to spend the cash deposits they have hoarded away which totals some £700bn. This will increase employment and help get the bottom of the housing market moving again.”
