Mortgage lending at record but slowing
Mortgage lending hit a new record in May, but the underlying picture is one of demand for new home loans tailing off, the Council of Mortgage Lenders said.
Total lending rose to £31bn in May, up 12% on April and 5% higher than this time last year. The lenders' trade body added that the annual growth figure compares with an increase of 12-15% at the start of the year, suggesting that higher interest rates may be starting to have an impact.
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"While today's lending figure is a new record for the month of May, it does indicate that the market is slowing down following the rapid and sustained growth we saw last year," said CML director general Michael Coogan.
Figures today from British Bankers Association showed that credit card borrowing dipped again. There was a net repayment in May of £409m, the BBA said, making it 10 months out of the past 12 months that credit card lending has dropped.
