Housing market has been slowly building up momentum over the last few months according to CML

March 23, 2017

Press release today from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) headlines ‘Gross mortgage lending £18.2 billion in February’.

The Council of Mortgage Lenders estimates that gross mortgage lending reached £18.2 billion in February.

Read the CML Gross Mortgage Lending release in full click here.

In the Market Commentary report also released today it states: The housing market has been slowly building up momentum over the last few months, largely getting back to activity levels we saw in the beginning of 2016.

House purchase approvals  reached 70,000 in January, approvals have been growing month-on-month for the past five months.

Lending is increasingly being driven by remortgage activity, as it grew over 20% over the last twelve months.

The number of first-time buyers rose to over 340,000 in the 12 months to January.

Commenting on market conditions in this month’s market commentary CML senior economist Mohammad Jamei said: “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”.

Read the CML Market Commentary report March 2017 in full click here.

Allen Walkey

Highly experienced businessman with a successful career in property sales and investment both in the UK and abroad. Now a freelance writer and blogger for the property and Investment Industry, keeping readers up-to-date with changes and events in a rapidly changing world.

You May Also Enjoy

Breaking News

Why capital is staying in London despite a cooling housing market

By Joe Freedman, Head of Origination at ASK Partners London isn’t suffering from a lack of housing demand. It’s suffering from a failure to deliver. New data from Molior underlines the scale of that failure. Just 5,547 private homes broke ground across the capital last year, an 84% drop from a decade ago. Against an…
Read More →
Breaking News

The hidden risk of overvaluing your home when moving in today’s market

With many homeowners turning ambitious conversations into tangible moving plans, the start of the year traditionally marks a surge in activity, particularly for families planning for the future. While the property market remains fundamentally healthy, experts at Beresfords say overvaluing property is one issue that continues to undermine the progress of those looking to sell.…
Read More →
Rightmove logo
Breaking News

Rightmove launches next phase of AI-powered property search

Rightmove, the UK’s largest property platform, has launched a beta version of AI-powered conversational property search, as it continues to enhance its property search experience. In close collaboration with Google Cloud and built with Google’s Gemini models, conversational search is available via the property search bar on Rightmove’s website homepage. The latest move further expands…
Read More →
Breaking News

Should you break things off with your mortgage lender this Valentine’s Day?

As Valentine’s Day approaches, the latest research from award-winning mortgage adviser, Alexander Hall, has revealed that more than half of homeowners approaching the end of a fixed-rate mortgage are currently undecided on their relationship with their lender, despite notable improvements across the mortgage market over the last 12 months. The consumer insight, commissioned by Alexander…
Read More →
Breaking News

UK Finance Mortgage arrears and possessions Q4 2025

UK Finance today releases its latest mortgage arrears and possessions data for Q4 2025, while highlighting continuing lender support for any customers facing financial difficulty. Key Information The number of homeowner mortgages in arrears fell by four per cent in Q3 2025 compared to the previous quarter. The number of buy-to-let (BTL) mortgages in arrears…
Read More →
Breaking News

Property compliance experts urge landlords not to ignore major tenancy changes under Renters’ Rights Act

Beresfords property group highlights key actions landlords must take as new tenancy rules, enforcement powers and energy standards approach. UK landlords are being warned not to overlook major changes to tenancy agreements and compliance requirements, as the Government moves closer to implementing the Renters’ Rights Act 2025. Following the publication of draft secondary legislation, the…
Read More →