Summary:
* Gross mortgage lending was £13.7bn in March. This was 15% higher than February but 14% lower than March 2004. In the first quarter of 2005 gross lending has been 15% below Q1 2004.
* Seasonally adjusted net mortgage lending (gross lending minus repayments) rose by £4.6bn compared with £4.8bn in February and £5.7bn in March 2004. This compares with an average of £4.5bn in the previous six months. Net lending in the first quarter of 2005 was 19% below Q1 2004.
* There were 188,105 approvals (for all purposes) in March for a total value of £16.6bn. Loans approved for house purchase saw the highest monthly total since the middle of last year and, although the number of all approvals was 19% higher than February, it was 30% weaker than March 2004. The average approval for house purchase was £121,600.
* Growth in overall net consumer credit (£0.5bn, seasonally adjusted) weakened again in March. The increase in loans and overdrafts (+£0.4bn) was lower than the recent monthly average of £0.6bn, while credit card borrowing (£0.1bn) was slightly stronger than February but noticeably weaker than the previous six months’ average. In the first quarter of 2005, credit card borrowing rose by £0.5bn compared with £1.3bn in Q1 2004, whilst loans & overdrafts rose by £1.8bn in each quarter.
David Dooks, BBA director of statistics, said: "March mortgage figures saw signs of a Spring stimulus, but not to the same extent as last year and activity levels, on any measure, are continuing to run below those twelve months earlier. Loans approved for house purchase saw some recovery, though it is too soon to say whether the slower housing market seen over the previous six months or so is now picking up.
"Subdued credit card lending has led to noticeably weak consumer credit in the first quarter of 2005, in line with weaker retail sales."
Mortgage Lending
* March’s gross lending of £13,721mn was higher than February’s total (£11,938mn) but well down on the £15,883mn in March 2004.
* Net mortgage lending rose by £4,605mn, compared with £4,793mn in February. The March rise was in line with the average of £4,471mn in the previous six months, although the annual growth rate declined slightly to 13.1%.
* Compared to the same month a year earlier, March’s approvals of house purchase loans were 33% lower by number and 25% lower by value; remortgaging loans were 16% lower by number and 4% lower by value; and equity withdrawal loans were 42% lower by number and 34% lower by value.
Consumer Credit
* New borrowing on credit cards totalled £7,583mn in March. This was in line with the average of the previous six months, and with repayments a little stronger, a seasonally adjusted increase in net lending of only £138mn resulted; down on the recent average (+£225mn).
* New lending on personal loans and overdrafts, at £3,123mn, was slightly higher than January and also higher than the average for the previous six months (£2,959mn). After seasonal adjustment, the rise in net lending of £362mn was considerably lower than the average rise of £573mn over the previous six months.
