Mortgage demand 'softening'

www.moneynews.co.uk > Mortgages > Mortgage demand 'softening'

Mortgage demand 'softening'

Wed 30th May 2007

Increased interest rates have stymied mortgage demand, new figures from the British Bankers' Association (BBA) suggest.

Figures released by the group show that underlying net mortgage lending rose by £5 billion in April, slightly down on March's increase.

April's figure was also lower than the recent average of £5.4 billion, the BBA's data shows, while net mortgage lending continued to stay at around 14 per cent.

David Dooks, BBA director of statistics, said: "The latest three months have seen net mortgage lending stabilise, with rises (albeit still around £5 billion a month) below the average of the previous six months.

"The picture from approvals points to mortgage demand weakening further as the year progresses and the cumulative effect of higher interest rates bites harder," he added.

Credit card borrowing also fell modestly by £0.1 billion, while personal loan and overdraft borrowing increased only slightly.

"Another net repayment on credit cards means that repayments have exceeded cardholders' spending in ten of the last twelve months, as they continue to run down their credit card borrowing," Mr Dooks said.

Related News : Mortgages
	Brits 'failing to grasp the importance of an interest in mortgages'
	BBA highlights mortgage lending growth
	Are interest-free mortgages a bad idea?
	Buy-to-let mortgages are 'more profitable'
	House price performance to impact lenders' criteria
	More Brits 'to choose long-term mortgages'
	Offset mortgages 'are the future'
	UK house prices 'set to fall'
	Hybrid mortgages 'are a good deal' for FTBs
	UK public expects house price increase