November 2011 witnessed growth returning to mortgage lending in the UK, new research has shown.
According to the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML), house purchasing activity enjoyed its second year-on-year rise of 2011 during the month.
It was shown that such agreements for buying dwellings amounted to 47,000 across the four-week period – deals that were worth a total of £6.9 billion.
This marked a four per cent rise on that recorded in October and a three per cent increase when judged against November 2010.
In addition, the findings also highlighted an upturn in remortgaging, with the 31,200 loans agreed in November 2011 up markedly on the 29,500 reported in October and the 30,700 seen during the same spell 12 months earlier.
Paul Smee, director general at the CML – whose members account for 94 per cent of residential mortgage lending in the UK – said such movement is a “welcome indicator for the industry considering confidence has been weak due to fragile economies both at home and in the eurozone”.
The industry figure added the next few months are also likely to see a rise in first-time buyer activity.
