Gross mortgage lending in the United Kingdom fell to a monthly low not seen since April 2001 during January and there is little hope for an immediate end to the downturn in this area, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders, London. "Mortgage lending activity continues to be very weak and while people are searching eagerly for some signs of recovery, it would be unrealistic to expect a meaningful revival in lending in coming months," said Bob Pannell, the CML's head of research. "Even when conditions do improve, gross lending will be one of the later measures to recover," he added. Gross U.K. mortgage lending in January totaled 12.4 billion pounds ($17.7 billion), an 8% decline from December and a 52% drop from January of last year.
Processing Content
