Gross mortgage lending clawed its way back up from £23.9 billion in December 2007 to a healthier £26.5 billion in January 2008 - not far from the £26.6 billion seen in January 2007 before the 'credit crunch' hit the UK market.
The CML did however say that it expected gross lending volumes to be lower in the coming months.
CML director general Michael Coogan said that the figures were encouraging considering that lending is typically lower in January than in December.
“It is likely that demand will be stronger for remortgaging than for house purchase in the short term," he predicted, adding, "Home buyers might be more inclined to transact if their moving costs were reduced and the government has the opportunity to address this by raising stamp duty thresholds and cutting the rates of stamp duty in next month’s Budget.”
