18
Feb
Housing market 'started 2010 in better shape than expected'
Britain's housing market began 2010 in a better position than many
analysts had been expecting, one industry expert has stated.
Paul Samter, economist at the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML),
explained that, although gross mortgage lending dropped between
December and January, this decline is typical for this time of
year.
"The market certainly improved over the second half of last year
and started 2010 in better shape than most would have predicted
twelve months ago," he noted.
Mr Samter's comments come as the CML revealed that gross mortgage
lending to individuals fell by 32 per cent in January compared with
December.
This data is corroborated by figures released by the Bank of
England on February 18th, which showed that mortgage approvals for
house purchases declined in January in comparison with the previous
month.
However, both organisations noted that this could be attributed to
the changes to stamp duty tax, which reverted to its former, lower
threshold of £125,000 on December 31st 2009.