Loans for both house purchase and remortgage fell slightly in September, compared with August, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML). 48,200 mortgages were advanced for house purchase, worth £7.1 billion, down 2% by number and 5% by value compared to a month earlier, but up 3% year-on-year, by both number and value. There [...]
cml
Sharp rise in buy-to-let lending
The number of new buy-to-let loans increased by 16% in the third quarter of 2011, according to data from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML). In the three months to September, 34,500 landlord loans were advanced, up from 29,700 in the preceding quarter. Over the period, the value of mortgages increased by 19% as the [...]
Scottish housing market manages seasonal spurt
House purchase lending in Scotland rose by more than the UK as a whole in the second quarter of 2011, according to new data from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML). Scottish home buyers secured 11,300 loans worth £1.3 billion, with the figures up 36% and 42% respectively, compared with the first three months of [...]
Repossession set to rise through 2012
The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has published forecasts for the UK mortgage and housing market, in which it predicts that arrears and repossessions are set to rise during the remainder of 2011 and throughout 2012. The lenders’ body also expects the base rate to remain unchanged at its current level of 0.5% for most [...]
Interest rate fears drive remortgaging surge
The first three months of the year saw a remortgaging surge, with activity accounting for 37% of the quarter’s lending (up from 30% in the previous quarter), the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) reports. In March, there were 33,900 loans for remortgage, up 16% compared to February and up 17% year-on-year, with the rise linked [...]
Repossessions up but mortgage arrears improve
Repossessions rose 15% in the first three months of 2011, compared with the previous quarter, according to new data from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML). A total of 9,100 properties were taken back by lenders, equating to 0.08% of all loans, but the figure was 10% lower than a year earlier and fell in [...]
Cash buyers make up 40% of house purchasers
Figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML), seen by the BBC, show a huge rise in the proportion of home buyers paying in cash. In January, nearly 40% of purchasers had no need of a mortgage, meaning that the proportion of loan-free buyers had more then doubled since CML records began, in 2005, the [...]
CML reports 2% fall in mortgage lending in March
The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has today said mortgage lending continues to remain weak, suggesting the housing market will remain subdued this year. According to the Council, gross mortgage lending for March was 2% lower in March on an annual basis. However, on a monthly basis, gross lending rose 21% to £11.3 billion, compared [...]
House purchase lending shrinks 12%
Mortgage lending increased only slightly in February, despite a “particularly downbeat” January, the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) reports. There were 32,300 loans for house purchase, worth £4.6 billion. The figures were up 8% by volume and 5% by value from January but down 12% (by both volume and value) on an annual basis. Loans [...]
UK housing market “stuck in a rut”
Gross mortgage lending remained flat in February, at around £9.5 billion, according to new data from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML). The total is less than 1% up year-on-year and any seasonal pick-up in house purchase demand appears to be weaker, despite a lull in activity at the start of 2010, following the end [...]
January mortgage lending down 26%
Mortgage lending plummeted by 26% in January, compared with December, but the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) is keen to explain how an “unusual combination of factors” are to blame.
Putting aside seasonal factors, the lenders’ body reckons the impact of government spending cuts, rising inflation and new tax measures all “discouraged” potential house buyers.
Extreme weather [...]
Gross mortgage lending down 13%
Gross mortgage lending fell to around £9.2 billion in January, down 13% on December but up 5% on a year earlier.
New figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) show the first year-on-year increase since August 2010, although CML economist, Peter Charles, points out that the Bank of England’s latest Inflation Report warns that UK [...]
No “magic bullet” to normalise the mortgage market
The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has responded to a discussion initiated by Housing Minister, Grant Shapps, over the large deposits needed by first-time buyers, by pointing out that lending constraints currently apply to all those who don’t hold a large amount of equity in their homes.
The CML explains that high loan-to-value (LTV) lending is [...]
Mortgage lending stabilises in 2010
Mortgage lending stabilised in 2010 after “very sharp” falls in 2008 and 2009, the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has reported.
Over the whole of last year, there were 529,300 loans advanced for house purchase (worth £77.1 billion) up 3% by volume and 11% by value on a year earlier.
Loans for remortgage were at a [...]
Buy-to-let lending makes promising recovery
Buy-to-let mortgage lending grew by 7% in 2010, according to the latest data from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML).
By the year-end, there were an estimated 1.3 million buy-to-let loans outstanding, worth £152 billion.
The total value of lending during 2010 stood at £10.4 billion (up 22% on 2009), and the total number of loans [...]
Repossessions set to rise after 2010 falls
The number of repossessions by the UK’s first-charge mortgage lenders fell to 36,300 in 2010, with the figure down 24% on 2009, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML).
The decline meant that 0.3% of all mortgages were subject to possession proceedings last year, while arrears fell by 13% to 169,600 (1.49% of all home [...]
Mortgage lending at its lowest since 2000
Gross mortgage lending fell 6% in December, compared with a month earlier, to the lowest level recorded since 2000.
According to the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML), the £11 billion total also reflects an annual decline of 18%, although comparisons are distorted by the ending of the 2009 stamp duty holiday.
For 2010 as a whole, lending [...]
Mortgage lending stable in November
Mortgage lending remained stable in November of last year, compared with October, with the UK’s banks and building societies advancing 44,000 loans for house purchase (worth £6.3 billion), according to new data from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML).
However, compared with a year earlier, the figures are down 15% by volume and 13% by [...]
Mortgage lending shifts back a decade
Gross mortgage lending fell to an estimated £11.1 billion in November, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML).
The figure represents a 5% drop on October and is down 10% year-on-year, although the flurry of housing market activity created by the end of the 2009 stamp duty holiday needs to be taken into account [...]
Housing and mortgage markets to remain broadly flat in 2011
In its forecast for 2011, the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) says it expects low interest rates to underpin “significantly” current house prices, despite low levels of property sales.
The lenders’ body is even suggesting that the base rate could remain at its current level of 0.5% for the whole of next year.
Low interest rates should [...]
Future housing conference – Council of Mortgage Lenders
Future housing conference information
24 February 2010
Conference time: 0845hrs – 1630hrs
Background
The CML compile and publish a range of statistics on the UK housing and mortgage markets including key data on mortgage lending, arrears and possessions and market segments such as buy-to-let. This unparalleled knowledge and insight into the important role housing plays in the economy is the basis on which this conference programme is built.
The detailed content will help all organisations, not just lenders, operating within the world of housing. The content discussed will be crucial to understanding current and future housing market conditions.
Chaired by Sue Anderson, head of external affairs, Council of Mortgage Lenders
Expert speakers will include:
- Michael Coogan, Director General, Council of Mortgage Lenders
- Rt. Hon John Healey MP, Minister for Housing and Planning
- Peter Williams, housing consultant and Chairman, IMLA
- Steven Hall, director, KPMG
- Bob Pannell, head of research, Council of Mortgage Lenders
- John Stewart, director of economic affairs, Home Builders Federation
- Rob Thomas, senior policy adviser, Council of Mortgage Lenders
Delegates currently booked on include:
- Technical director, Allied Surveyors
- Head of sales, Halifax Intermediaries
- Head of product delivery, HBOS plc
- Team leader, housing regeneration and third sector team, HM Treasury
- Business project manager, Legal and General Assurance Society
Cost:
£275 for members (VAT exempt)
£325 for non-members (VAT exempt)
Our event fees remain highly competitive with prices for members and associates not having increased since January 2007
Location:
The Westbury Hotel, Bond Street, Mayfair, London, W1S 2YF
This event is open to press
Stamp Duty – Change demanded by property experts
Industry heavyweights have added their support to the 1808 Coalition, set up by the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) and the Association of Residential Lettings Agents (ARLA) to campaign for the Government to modernise Stamp Duty.
1808 Coalition partners are:
• Association of Mortgage Intermediaries (AMI)
• Association of Residential Lettings Agents (ARLA)
• Building Societies Association (BSA)
• Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML)
• Home Builders Federation (HBF)
• National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA)
• National Landlords Association (NLA)
Peter Bolton-King, Chief Executive of the NAEA, said: “The Coalition believes that Stamp Duty is an anachronistic tax which, in its current form, is preventing a recovery in the housing sector – it limits market flexibility, creates regional inequality and its slab structure unfairly distorts the housing market. With the Pre Budget Report due soon, now is the time for the Government to take action.”
The current Stamp Duty “holiday” for properties lower than £175.000 is due to expire at the start of 2010 but in a recent survey by the NAEA, 91 per cent of estate agents surveyed felt that it should be extended. 86 per cent of those surveyed felt that the tax is unfair.
Ian Potter, Operations Manager of ARLA said: “Not only does Stamp Duty prevent those aspiring to own a home from doing so, it also impacts the whole property chain. For ARLA members, this means having to pay Stamp Duty on the bulk price of a portfolio, when individual buy-to-let investors pay a lower rate on the single unit price.”
Robert Sinclair, Director of the AMI, said: “It is rare that the breadth of our industry comes together with such consensus on an issue. But the current Stamp Duty regime is distorting the market to such an extent that we feel compelled to speak out. The Association of Mortgage Intermediaries is fully committed to supporting this industry campaign to reform the regime. We implore the Government to not only listen but, to act in support of our request for change to this damaging tax.”
John Stewart, HBF’s Director of Economic Affairs, said: “It is imperative that the first signs of market stabilisation that have emerged in recent months, and which have allowed home builders to begin tentatively opening new sites and expanding output and employment, are nurtured. The Government’s stimulus measures for housing, including the raised stamp duty threshold, have played a significant part in this stabilisation and it is vital that they are not removed at this still fragile stage, either in total or in part.”
Adrian Coles, Director General, BSA, said: “The current Stamp Duty system in the UK is archaic and in desperate need of reform and modernisation. A fairer and transparent system is needed that doesn’t discriminate against young and first time home buyers, and promotes an effective housing market.”
Michael Coogan, Director General, CML, said: “We urge the government to announce a comprehensive and long-overdue review of Stamp Duty. Reform is needed of a tax that distorts the housing market.”
David Salusbury, Chairman, NLA, said: “Stamp Duty Land Tax is a pernicious tax which has failed to keep pace with house price appreciation. It creates an unbalanced housing market and discourages investment in housing. Reform is needed now.”
Anyone wishing to register comments on the campaign, or on Stamp Duty, should visit: http://www.nfopp.co.uk/1808
Buy-to-let market grows for first time in two years – Council of Mortgage Lenders
Nov 09
Gross lending in the buy-to-let mortgage market grew in the third quarter for the first time in two years, according to data published today by the CML. At £2.1 billion, lending was 10% higher than in the previous three months. The third quarter also saw a similar first increase in two years in the number of buy-to-let loans advanced, from 21,600 to 23,700. But the welcome recovery in buy-to-let lending was from a low base, with current lending volumes sharply lower than their peak in 2007.
The number of outstanding buy-to-let loans grew to 1,205,000, representing 11% of all mortgages by the end of the quarter (compared to 1,180,000 three months earlier). The value of outstanding buy-to-let mortgages increased by 2.5% to £144.2 billion.
Within the buy-to-let market, both lending for house purchase and remortgaging grew in the last three months. As with the mainstream mortgage market, however, house purchase lending was appreciably stronger. Remortgaging capacity was constrained by the unavailability during the quarter of any buy-to-let mortgages at over 80% loan-to-value (LTV). Landlords with existing mortgages at a higher LTV are therefore effectively obliged to stay on their existing lenders’ reversion rates. But with variable interest rates remaining low, it is relatively painless for them to do so and there is little pressure to re-finance.
Low borrowing costs are also contributing to a continued improvement in cases of buy-to-let arrears and the number of landlords facing enforcement action. For the third quarter in a row, there was a decline in the number of buy-to-let mortgages with arrears of more than 1.5% of the balance. In the last three months, the number has fallen from 22,900 to 20,500, representing 1.7% of outstanding buy-to-let mortgages.
The number of properties taken into possession rose in the third quarter, from 1,400 to 1,600, equivalent to 0.14% of all buy-to-let mortgages. Over the same period, however, there was a sharp decline – from 2,500 to 1,700 – in the number of arrears cases in which a receiver of rent was appointed, often as an alternative to seeking possession of the property.
Commenting on the newly-published data, the CML’s director general Michael Coogan said:
“At this stage, the recovery is modest - but the figures show that buy-to-let is here to stay. Buy-to-let lenders are among those facing some of the biggest challenges in raising mortgage funding, so the improved figures are all the more welcome.
“Future demand for housing in all tenures supported by lenders will remain strong, despite mortgage funding constraints and low construction rates. With funding for social housing under pressure, the private rented sector has a strong future. Mortgage lenders will have an important role to play in it, and will continue to help improve choice and standards for private tenants.”
Notes to editors
1. The Council of Mortgage Lenders’ members are banks, building societies and other lenders who together undertake around 98% of all residential mortgage lending in the UK. There are 11 million mortgages in the UK, with loans worth over £1.2 trillion.
2. The CML buy-to-let press release for the final quarter of 2009 will be published on 11 February 2010.
- Contact details
- Name: Bernard Clarke
- Tel: 020 7438 8923
- Email: bernard.clarke@cml.org.uk
- Name: Sue Anderson
- Tel: 020 7438 8924
- Email: sue.anderson@cml.org.uk
- Name: Sarah Robson
- Tel: 020 7438 8922
- Email: sarah.robson@cml.org.uk
