Big rise in home loans

Mortgage lending rose by 30 per cent in March over the previous month, to its highest level since September 2011.

The £13.4 billion figure from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) was 11 per cent higher than March last year.

But experts warned the figures were only a “spike”, as first-time buyers rushed to get on the housing ladder before the stamp duty holiday ended last month. After two years, the threshold for paying stamp duty fell from £250,000 to £125,000, despite calls for the deadline to be extended.

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Mark Dyason, director of Edinburgh Mortgage Advice, said: “The March spike reflects the flurry of activity generated by the stamp duty holiday. It’s wholly artificial.

“Expect the April data to show a big drop-off in activity levels.”