Mortgage lending in the UK peaked in January, as the real estate market recovered from its losses due to severe winter weather at end-2010.
According to the Bank of England, net lending rose to £1.8 billion in January, up from the £268 million recorded in the preceding month. The number of mortgaged approved for home purchases also increased seven percent to 45,723.
While the figure rose from the 21-month low recorded in December, the number of home loans for new home purchases remained low, compared to November. It also remained low on the 70,000 approvals to 80,000 approvals per month, which many economists consider to be consistent with a stable housing market.
These figures came as UK mortgage regulator Nationwide said the residential market was continuing to “tread water” after property prices edged up by 0.3 percent last month.