The Council of Mortgage Lenders, whose members are banks, building societies and other lenders, collectively undertaking up to 97% of all UK residential mortgage lending, estimates that gross mortgage lending in February reached £18.2 billion.

£1.3 trillion
This may sound impressive, yet it’s still 8% lower than January’s lending total of £19.8 billion. Although, it’s a I close match when comparing to the same time last year as February 2016 saw £18.1 billion in total lent. To place these figures into further context, there are over 11.1 million mortgages in the UK, with loans worth over £1.3 trillion.

Supply demand imbalance
The Council of Mortgage Lenders senior economist, Mohammad Jamei, commented:
“Mortgage lending is holding up well, but under the surface buyers face mixed fortunes. First-time buyers and customers who are remortgaging are driving total lending, while home movers and buy-to-let remain weak.

The weakness in home movers means few properties are coming onto the market for sale, which is aggravating a supply demand imbalance that has characterised the market since late 2013. This looks set to continue at least over the next few months, posing an obstacle for would-be borrowers.”