Mortgage lending growth falls back in April
British Bankers Association (BBA) today releases April 2016 figures for the high street banks.
Gross mortgage borrowing of £12bn in the month was 12% higher than in April 2015. As expected, this was a slower month, following the inflated lending activity associated with borrowers completing purchases ahead of the stamp duty increase.
Net mortgage borrowing is running around 3% higher than a year ago.
House purchase approval numbers have resumed a downward trend after seeing increased activity during the three previous months which were influenced by the stamp duty change.
Numbers were some 6% lower than in April 2015.
Remortgaging approvals were 16% higher than in April 2015.
Dr Rebecca Harding, BBA Chief Economic Advisor said: “As expected, growth in mortgage lending has fallen back sharply on last month proving that March’s results were just a Stamp-Duty spike. Net mortgage borrowing is nevertheless 3% higher than a year ago.
“Separately, the fact that personal deposits are growing while ISA deposits continue to disappoint suggest consumers are using easy-access savings while the outlook for the economy remains uncertain. The increase in real wage growth may start to have positive knock-on effects on long-term savings if it is sustained.”
The above includes property associated news items only from the report, to see the full report from the (BBA) click here.