Press
Mortgage lending 'subdued' in August - BSA
by Joy Dunbar
FinancialAdviser 01st October 2009
Gross lending by UK building societies remained subdued in August this year, according to the Building Society Association.
The BSA said that gross mortgage lending from 52 building societies was £1.5bn in August, down from £2.6bn in the same month last year. In August, mortgage approvals totalled £1.3bn compared with £2.9bn exactly a year ago.
Adrian Coles, director-general of the BSA, said: "Gross lending was subdued in August, but appears to be at broadly similar levels to recent months after seasonal factors are adjusted for. However, the market remains very depressed compared to previous years.
"Despite signs of a modest improvement in market conditions in recent months, activity will not return to normal levels until funds for mortgage lending are more widely available to building societies and other lenders."
James Carter, proprietor of London-based IFA Independent James, said that the summer months tend to be subdued in the housing market.
He said: "The summer months are traditionally quiet. But you need to look at the longer term trends rather than on a month by month basis. Looking at the longer term trend tends to give you an idea of what is going on and the figure could be a blip."
The BSA added it is difficult to make comparisons with previous data as Britannia, which was the second largest building society, merged with The Co-operative Financial Services at the start of August. Britannia is no longer classified as a building society.
Meanwhile, in the savings market the BSA said that balances held in savings accounts at building societies fell £202m in August this year.