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Mortgage market may be over the worst, says expert
02/07/09
The UK mortgage market looks to be "past the worst" of the financial crisis but it remains weak and it would be unrealistic to say a full-on recovery is underway, an expert has claimed. Bernard Clarke of the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) said that despite loan approvals for residential property climbing for the fourth consecutive month in May, overall levels of housing transactions remain "very low".
He also said there is a "continuing chronic shortage" of mortgage finance.
According to figures from the Bank of England, 43,414 new home loans were given the green light in May, up from 43,191 in April, 40,145 in March and 38,280 in February.
Mr. Clarke said that despite the recent rises, there may be more volatility ahead.
"That is a pattern that you might expect in these circumstances - monthly fluctuations - and we have always warned about reading too much into one month's figures," he commented.
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