Mortgage lending ‘dipped in March’

The scale of mortgage landing activity across Britain was reduced during March of this year, according to the latest data.

Figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) have shown that the number of Britons taking on a home loan declined by one per cent in March to continue a trend that has been seen throughout 2008.

Widespread debt management difficulties among UK consumers and a lack of willingness or capacity to offer deals among lenders are seen as some of the major reasons for the current state of the British housing sector.

“House purchase transaction volumes will continue to deteriorate in the coming months as recent approvals data from the Bank of England has shown,” said the CML’s director general Michael Coogan.

Meanwhile, a report from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors made clear that homeowners around the country are likely to find an affordable mortgage deal hard to find throughout 2008.