Mortgage lending hits £18.5 billion - up 16% in a year

The latest figures from the Council for Mortgage Lenders show that gross mortgage lending has hit £18.5bn, up 16% in just one year.

The figure is also the highest amount lent to homebuyers in April since 2008.

As wages and employment levels increase, we’ve seen a surge in activity in the sales market in recent months, which has perhaps been eclipsed by the media focus on the buy-to-let market.

This surge in mortgage lending comes after the stamp duty increase at the end of March, emphasising the strength of the sales market generally. Many buy-to-let investors had looked to beat the deadline and finalise their purchase under the previous tax rate. This led to a flurry of activity in the mortgage market as investors looked to secure lending.  

However Stephen Ludlow, Chairman at ludlowthompson, explains: “The figures suggest the bounce was not solely be due to buy-to-let market, there’s clearly strong growth across London’s sales market.

“The rise in lending has been underpinned by the strong performance of the UK economy with low levels of unemployment unlocking access to the housing market.”