Mortgage lending dips

The mortgage market has showed early signs of slowing down during July, according to latest figures.

Borrowing fell to its lowest level for three months, the Council of Mortgage Lenders said.

It reported a total of £34.1 billion was advanced during the month - a drop of £0.7 billion on June.

Both the value and number of loans for people buying a home and remortgaging decreased, the organisation said.

But lending to people unlocking equity from their homes and investing in the buy-to-let sector hit a new high of £7.8 billion.

The number of loans taken out by first-time buyers fell by 7 per cent compared with the previous month, as affordability for people taking their first step on to the property ladder continued to worsen.

The average first-time buyer now has to borrow a record 3.39 times their salary, up from 3.23 in July last year.

Fixed-rate loans continued to be the most popular type of mortgage taken out - accounting for 79 per cent of all loans.

But the CML said people's appetite for fixed-rate deals may be on the wane if they think interest rates have peaked.

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