Insurance News Archive

Mortgage lending shows modest rise in May

Written by Jonathan Walker

Mortgage lending rose again last month, although the increase was lower than in April, the latest figures show.

The total number of home loans stood at 102,330 in May, which was below the 103,085 in April, although the value of lending stood at £10.2 billion, up from £10 billion the month before, according to Bank of England statistics.

Loans for house purchases were up marginally, from 43,191 in April to 43,414 last month, with the value also rising from £5.1 billion to £5.4 billion.

However, the increase was smaller than from April to May when the value of lending for buying a home jumped by £0.4 billion.

The value of loans for remortgaging remained the same for the third month running, with the number handed out by banks and building societies falling again from 31,701 to 30,984.

"This may reflect, in part, a degree of satisfaction with the low standard variable rate mortgages that many homeowners have moved on to as existing products terminate," explained Simon Rubinsohn, chief economist at the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.

30 Jun 2009