The number of annual purchase mortgages in the United Kingdom during 2008 declined by 49% from the preceding year to the lowest level seen since 1974, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders, London. The CML said there were 516,000 purchase loans originated during the year, compared to about 1.02 million in 2007. U.K. lenders originated 32,000 purchase mortgages in December, a decline of 5% from November and the lowest level seen since the CML began tracking monthly data in 2002.
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