Mortgage lending in May returned to the levels seen earlier this year following the slump experienced in April, according to the latest figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders.
Gross lending rose to £10.3bn in May compared with £9.2bn in April. Loans for house purchase increased to £6.8bn from £6.3bn, but they fell in percentage terms from 68% to 66% of total gross lending. Average new variable rates were up from 6.14% to 6.19%, while the average new fixed rates were 6.48% compared with 6.43% in April. The number of new loans taken out at fixed rates increased to 34%, with 66% of all new loans taken out at variable rates.
Figures from the Building Societies Association for May show that the gross advances for mortgage lending from building societies was £2bn, up from £1.8bn in April, but £353m less than May last year.
New mortgage lending by the major UK banks was also up from £5.8bn in to £6.5bn in May, according to the British Bankers Association. Seasonally adjusted, net lending was more in line with the rises of the previous two months, climbing by £2bn.
