Mortgage lending ‘could be stabilising’

Lending for potential property purchasers seems to be showing signs of stability, one expert has suggested.

Head of savings policy at the Building Societies Association Brian Morris said that while borrowing is still at “historically low levels”, it exhibited a significant increase last month.

He remarked: “Gross mortgage lending by building societies was just under £2 billion [£1,976 million] in June 2009, the highest level seen this year and up 30 per cent on May.”

Approvals for people trying to finance buying a new home also reached its peak for the year, with £1.8 billion in funding allocated, Mr Morris added.

However, gross lending and approvals are down 40 per cent and 30 per cent respectively on figures from June 2008, he remarked.

Earlier this month, Neil Munroe of Equifax advised individuals to not lie on mortgage application forms as it could contribute to them finding it more difficult to obtain credit in the future.

By Francis Finch