"House purchase and remortgage activity both appear to have picked up recently, and this should be supported by an improvement in the availability and pricing of mortgages"
- Council of Mortgage chief economist Bob Pannell
Mortgage lending in the U.K. reached an 11-month high last month, adding to signs that the property market is finally picking up, the Council of Mortgage lenders reported Tuesday. Overall mortgage lending rocketed 4% to £12.9 billion, after a sharp fall in September. In August, the British Treasury and the BoE have launched the £80bn funding for lending scheme in order to boost lending to households and businesses.
"House purchase and remortgage activity both appear to have picked up recently, and this should be supported by an improvement in the availability and pricing of mortgages," CML chief economist Bob Pannell said. "The Funding for Lending Scheme is likely to have made an early positive impact, helping to counter some of the negative pressures associated with a protracted and weak economic recovery."
"Despite the apparent pick-up in October, the mortgage market today is little different to how it was 12 or 24 months ago," said Dan McLeod, director of estate agent Atkinson McLeod.
The FTSE 100 Index rose 0.18 per cent to 5,748.10. The broader FTSE All-Share Index edged higher 0.24 per cent to 3,004.52.
© Dukascopy Bank SA