Value and number of mortgages down in July

Mortgage lending fell in July as affordability problems began to make themselves felt, the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has reported.

The CML has said that the value of mortgages to first-time buyers fell by seven per cent to 32,400, with value falling by four per cent to £4.4 billion.

Remortgaging levels also dropped, the CML revealed, though other lending for purposes such as equity release and buy-to-let investments rose to a record value of £7.8 billion.

But first-time buyers are now paying 3.39 times their salary in order to secure a mortgage – a record in itself.

"A slight fall in lending between June and July has emerged for the third year in a row, so of course we cannot read too much into a single month's figures," commented CML director general Michael Coogan.

"But the long-anticipated slowdown in the housing and mortgage markets may now be beginning to materialise," Mr Coogan added.

First-time buyers are increasingly looking to parents for assistance in buying a home, it was revealed last month.


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