Mortgages slump by 30bn, says CML

The CML said while it was usual for mortgage lending to fall between August and September, the latest decline was more than double the typical reduction of 5 per cent or so. Mortgage lenders believe the figures represent further evidence of a marked slowdown in the housing market, particularly as they reflect the period just before the Northern Rock crisis.

Michael Coogan, the director general of the CML, said: “In the coming months, we expect to see monthly lending levels dip below their 2006 levels for the first time this year as interest rate effects are exacerbated by the recent liquidity problems in the mortgage market.”
Full text