27
May
Mortgage lending "edged up in April"
Mortgage lending rose slightly last month, an industry practitioner
has noted.
Responding to the release of figures by the British Bankers
Association (BBA), chief economist at the Royal Institution of
Chartered Surveyors Simon Rubinsohn said the number of loans
approved for house purchases went up by a small margin.
According to the institution's data, there was an annual increase
in banks' net mortgage lending in April of 4.3 per cent.
This followed a 4.5 per cent hike during the previous month.
Mr Rubinsohn commented: "The number of mortgage loans approved for
house purchases edged up in April."
However, they remain down on the levels seen at the end of last
year, he went on to note.
This is largely a reflection of the previous government's decision
to include a new incentive for first-time buyers, the expert
claimed.
The impact the Conservative/Liberal Democrat coalition has on the
country's property remains to be seen.
