Mortgage borrowing is at the lowest for more than a decade but banks and building societies
are still trying to congratulate themselves for a job well done in 2010.
Despite the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) stating that the mortgage lending rot
seems to have stopped with figures for 2010 up on comparable figures for 2009, other stats
freely available, on the CML web site paint a different picture.
In 2010, 529,300 home buyer loans were approved for £77.1 billion, an increase of 3% by
volume and 11% by value compared with 2009.
Remortgages in 2010 were at a 13-year low at 313,200, worth £39.3 billion, down 23% by
volume and 24% by value from 2009 .
Compared with the peak of the market in 2007, mortgage lending is feeble – the CML’s own
web site brags 2007 was the strongest ever year for gross mortgage lending at £362 billion,
up 5% from the previous high of £345 billion in 2006.
Data on the CML web site reveals even in 1999, gross mortgage lending was a heady £114.7
billion – 148% up on current lending.
The CML also confirms that lending in 2011 is likely to stay pegged at 2010 levels.
Michael Coogan, CML director general said: “Access to funding for lenders is expected to stay
under pressure this year, but it will now be matched by lower consumer demand due to the
economic backdrop and a range of uncertainties which will impact the timing of borrowing
decisions. We conclude that this will lead to gross lending levels in 2011 staying flat compared
to 2010.
“2010 was about the mortgage market continuing to adapt to the post-credit crunch
environment, and the full year data shows that the lending industry is now on a more stable
footing but at historically low levels of activity.
“House purchase lending held up, and shows the market is open for business. However, it is
still not serving all customer groups that may want to borrow, in particular those without a
significant deposit.
