U.K. Gross Mortgage Lending Sees Slight Drop Off

The estimate for gross mortgage lending in the United Kingdom faltered a bit in the latest month, according to an industry group. In November, the U.K.'s gross mortgage lending estimate dropped to £12 billion ($19.4 billion) from £13.3 billion ($21.5 billion) in October and £13.9 billion ($22.5 billion) from November of last year. Observers expect volumes will not drop much from current levels, even though a tax break is due to expire at the beginning of 2010. There "is little reason to expect much underlying change in the coming months," said Paul Samter, economist at the Council of Mortgage Lenders, London. "There has been a modest increase in the availability of mortgage credit recently, including some tentative signs of a few higher LTV products emerging. But there is no sign of a swift recovery in lending volumes," he added.