Gross mortgage lending hits £20.5 billion for September

This was 7 per cent lower than August’s lending total of £22.1 billion, and 2 per cent higher than the £20.1 billion lent in September last year.

It is the highest September figure since 2007 when gross lending reached £29.9 billion.

Gross mortgage lending for the third quarter of 2016 was therefore as estimated £63.6 billion. This is 11% higher than the second quarter of this year, and 4% higher than the third quarter of 2015.

Commenting on market conditions in this month’s market commentary, CML senior economist Mohammad Jamei said: “Remortgage activity looks set to grow, helped by attractively priced mortgage deals encouraging borrowers to refinance. Prospects for house purchase activity continue to look slightly subdued, when compared to the same period a year ago.

“Despite this, housing market sentiment continued to improve in September, after recovering in August. As a result, we expect a modest rise in approvals, though at levels lower than seen earlier this year, as the lack of properties on the market for sale and affordability constraints continue to bear down on borrowers.”