Mortgage lending rises

Gross mortgage lending rose in January, as borrowers took advantage of falling mortgage interest rates.

It is thought that the Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee's (MPC's) decision to cut the base rate of interest in December has helped to fuel the rise in loans.

The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has revealed that mortgage lending increased to £26.5 billion in the month.

This equates to a month-on-month rise of 11 per cent and is just marginally below the £26.6 billion which was borrowed in January 2007.

CML officials are pleased with the results but are calling on the government to make moves to boost the mortgage market further.

Michael Coogan, director general of the CML, said: "Gross lending held up well in January.

"Homebuyers might be more inclined to transact if their moving costs were reduced and the government has the opportunity to address this by raising stamp duty thresholds and cutting the rates of stamp duty innext month's Budget," he added.

Alistair Darling is due to deliver his first Budget as chancellor of the exchequer on March 12th.

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