Mortgage lending grows by 10 per cent in a year

Those who were looking to take out a mortgage in early 2012 will have found themselves more likely to get a mortgage now than they would have been just a year ago, according to the latest figures released.

Statistics revealed by the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) show that mortgage lending grew in January of 2012, despite the fact that it was lower than in December of last year, which is to be expected thanks to the seasonal lending attributed often to people looking to move into a new house in time for Christmas.

The CML reports that the value of mortgages taken out in January was £10.5 billion. This figure represents a growth on lending for properties for sale of 10 per cent when compared to the same month on year ago.

However, it was also 14 per cent lower than the £12.2 billion reported for grss mortgage lending in December of last year, when more people were looking to get on the festive UK property market.

"The increase in lending compared to January last year helps support our view that housing and mortgage market activity may be boosted by first-time buyers seeking to complete deals before the stamp duty concession ends in March," said CML chief economist Bob Pannell.

"Should inflationary pressures continue to fall back, the squeeze on household finances should ease progressively and help support stronger economic recovery going into the second half of the year. This can only be good news for the housing market further down the track."

Recently, the housing market has been seen to be performing well due to the fact that many first-time buyers are able to get onto the property ladder by taking advantage of the stamp duty holiday.

As a result of the holiday, some 89 per cent of those buying their first home have been able to avoid paying the tax.