Gross mortgage lending increases 14% year-on-year ...

Gross mortgage lending reached £18.2bn in May, the latest figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) reveal.

Lending was 4% higher than the £17.6bn recorded in April, and 14% higher than May 2015 when lending hit £16bn, and the highest May figure since 2008 when gross lending reached £23.7bn.

Commenting on market conditions in this month’s market commentary, CML senior economist Mohammad Jamei said: “As expected, lending continued to be somewhat dampened in May, reflecting the earlier rush in the first quarter to beat the stamp duty change on second properties.

“Looking ahead, there is likely to be considerable uncertainty as a result of the EU referendum decision. We expect this to affect sentiment and reduce activity below levels that would otherwise be expected in the near term, as both buyers and sellers adopt a wait-and-see attitude until the dust begins to settle. Market fundamentals underpinning house prices still look sound, and we do not expect significant house price falls, especially given the current supply demand imbalance.”

Gross mortgage lending, not seasonally adjusted
			Total
			£m
Year
2005			283,452
2006			340,931
2007			356,802
2008			247,805
2009			140,573
2010			133,807
2011			138,257
2012			144,512
2013			177,715
2014			203,384
2015			219,834

Quarter
2013	Q1		34,055
	Q2		42,355
	Q3		49,815
	Q4		51,489
2014	Q1		46,211
	Q2		51,497
	Q3		54,982
	Q4		50,695
2015	Q1		44,582
	Q2		52,035
	Q3		61,217
	Q4		61,811
2016	Q1		62,526

Month
2015	May		16,015
	Jun		20,067
	Jul		21,605
	Aug		19,545
	Sep		20,067
	Oct		21,767
	Nov		20,389
	Dec		19,655
2016	Jan		18,424
	Feb		17,919
	Mar		26,184
	Apr		17,562
	May	est	18,200
est=estimated