The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has published its annual report 2007 which, the organisation says, is a record of a momentous year for the mortgage industry.
The report highlights how, in the first eight months or so of the year, mortgage and housing markets continued a pattern of strong growth that had extended for a decade.
In six of the first seven months of the year, CML reported record lending figures. Despite the dramatic impact of the credit crunch from August onwards, lending totalled a record £364 billion in 2007 – £1 billion a day – and almost 6 percent more than the £345 billion recorded in 2006.
In the late summer, however, the CML states that two seismic events heralded an abrupt and dramatic change in market sentiment and direction. The run on Northern Rock was preceded by a lack of confidence that ultimately paralysed wholesale funding markets and resulted in the credit crunch.
As events unfolded in the final months of the year, the industry came under intense scrutiny from the media, politicians and regulators.
But according to the CML the reality was that, at the end of a dramatic year, almost 12 million households were successfully using mortgage finance to buy their own home. The overwhelming majority were acquiring a source of wealth and financial independence as they did so.
Home-ownership remained overwhelming the tenure of choice. And 70 percent of the UK’s population were owner-occupiers, the majority fulfilling their aspirations with the help of mortgage finance.
The full report is available on the CML website.
• Residential landlords looking to expand in the Manchester area could be tempted by a deal from residential developer Dandara.
Over the weekend of the 9, 10 and 11 May, Dandara is offering anyone that buys an apartment at its new development £800 a month for 12 months to go towards their mortgage and an additional £2,000 to spend on a luxury break to Paris for two.
The award winning development is located in the heart of Manchester, on Blackfriars Road, just off Deansgate – only 475 metres away from Harvey Nichols. Prices start at £109,950 for a studio apartment.
