Gross mortgage lending rises in July

The amount of money that lenders in the UK property market are affording to those who are looking to purchase homes is rising again as the market in the UK continues its moderate recovery through the second half of 2012.

According to the latest figures released by the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) the amount of money that was afforded to loans for purchasing houses rose to £12.7 billion throughout July.

This was an increase both in terms of monthly totals and year-on-year compared to just 12 months ago. According to the CML, the volume of what banks were prepared to forward to their customers for properties for sale increased by a full eight per cent when compared to June, from the £11.7 billion seen then.

On top of this, the market also saw a rise of two per cent when compared to a year ago, when the level of mortgage borrowing saw lenders shell out £12.5 billion.

This figure could be seeing a welcome help at last from such governmental schemes as NewBuy and FirstBuy, under which those who are looking to purchase homes can do so with a far smaller deposit than previously; typically five per cent compared to an average of around 20 to 25 per cent.

Part of this downturn in June which makes July's figures look so impressive could be shown to be a result of the traditional slowing down of the property market at the start of the year as more people turn towards holidays than moving.

However, with the Queen's diamond jubilee added into the mix, it is clear to see that it became tougher during June for people to sell houses; a trend which was reversed in July.

CML market and data analyst Caroline Purdey said: "Gross mortgage lending showed an eight per cent increase from last month, continuing the see-saw pattern seen throughout this year, albeit against a broadly flat market.

"Interpretation of recent trends continues to be challenged by one-off effects. We look forward to the September figures when the distorting effects of the Diamond Jubilee and the Olympics should largely have worked their way through".