Mortgage lending down again

The British Bankers' Association (BBA) has revealed that mortgage lending was down again in March.

In a further indication of the impact of the credit crunch, the increase in mortgage lending during the month was only £5.1 billion, down on February's rise of £5.5 billion and the six-monthly average of £5.2 billion.

Commenting on the findings, BBA director of statistics David Dooks said: "The consequences of low banking sector liquidity show up clearly in March data."

The difficulty of obtaining the right mortgage may prompt some to look at the self build alternative for getting a new home.

Mr Dooks' analysis was shared by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors' chief economist Simon Rubinsohn.

Mr Rubinsohn added that the move this week by the Bank of England to issue £50 million of securitised bonds to improve mortgage market liquidity would help, but cautioned that it is "not going to turnaround the current challenging environment overnight".


© Adfero Ltd