Gross mortgage lending totalled £34.4 billion in July 2007 according to the CML. Although this is down by 1% on the £34,847 of lending achieved in June, it is 13% higher than the £30.6 billion lent in the same month last year.
Mortgage lending remains robust despite the five interest rate hikes since last August - although we have yet to see the full impact of higher rates. Lending is currently being fuelled by a large number of people remortgaging to better deals in case rates go any higher.
As we move into the autumn the cumulative effects of these rate rises will become more pronounced, and the CML expect this to feed through to lower levels of mortgage lending as the year progresses. However, the association still believe that the nation is on target to reach a record £360 billion of mortgage lending this year.
