The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has reported a steep rise in mortgage lending for March.
Figures published show that lending surged to £11.5bn for the month – a rise of 24% on February, and up 3% for March of last year when the market had reached its lowest point due to the credit crunch.
However, these encouraging figures failed to offset a poor start to the new year. Although the total amount of lending was £29.5bn total for the first quarter of the year, it is 9% down on the same quarter for last year. In fact, overall mortgage lending for the first three months of 2010 was the lowest quarterly total for a decade, according to the CML.
According to banking expert David Black of Defaqto, this can possibly be attributed to lenders favouring those fortunate enough to have large deposits, making it tough for the majority of first time buyers wanting to get into the property market.
He said: “Since the credit crunch the situation has changed significantly with those needing a higher loan-to-value mortgage paying a lot more.
“First-time buyers are being hardest hit as they need a substantial deposit merely to get on the housing ladder and a bigger deposit still if they want the best mortgage rates.”
It’s not all bad news though as CML economist Paul Samter is cautiously optimistic. He said:
“But with the gradually improving economic backdrop and interest rates still low, we continue to expect a gentle improvement in market conditions later in the year.”
Those looking to get into the mortgage advice market and taking CeMAP training at the moment are likely to be able to take advantage of the expected upturn.
