Mortgages Slow In February

Lending was down 5% in February, totaling 21.8 billion pounds. The underlying mortgage lending, excluding redemptions and repayments, rose by 4.4 billion pounds in February, less than the rise of 4.6 billion in January, according to the BBA. According to analysts, the weaker lending in February does not signal a down turn in the housing market. More than that, the CML says that confidence in the housing market was strong, pointing to the fact that, even if there was a drop compared with January, February was still 22% higher than the same month last year. Areas that have been slow in the last few years, like London and the southeast, are now seeing a revival in housing prices.

The outlook for the coming year is a steady, but consistent one. Unsecured lending rose by 0.7 billion pounds, a promising nudge in the right direction though only marginally higher than the previous six month average of 0.6 billion. Borrowing against credit cards rose by 0.2 billion while borrowing on loans and overdrafts rose by 0.5 billion.