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Signs of a slowdown as total secured borrowing levels fall

by: By Edward Murray
  • 06/10/2003
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Borrowing secured on residential property fell by over 6% in August, according to Gerrard, the inves...

Borrowing secured on residential property fell by over 6% in August, according to Gerrard, the investment advice subsidiary of Old Mutual.

UK borrowers secured a total of £7.7bn against their properties in August compared to £8.2bn in July.

Simon Rubinsohn, chief economist at Gerrard, said: “The latest data provides the first sign that the stunning rise in the level of mortgage equity withdrawal over the past few years may be running out of steam.”

Graham Leftwich, head of corporate communications at Britannia BS, said: “We agree that August was quiet but September has been busier. It could be seasonal rather than the house market cooling. September has been particularly strong on remortgaging, although we do not know how much of that is people looking for a better deal and how much is people talking out equity. I suspect equity withdrawal is still going strong and the market is pretty buoyant.”

Rubinsohn added: “The modest downturn in household borrowing is likely to encourage the Monetary Policy Committee to hold fire on interest rates.”

I See p5 for the latest house price figures from Nationwide.

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