Speaking as data from the Council of Mortgage Lenders reported that mortgage lending is on the increase, the CML chief economist said that demand would still remain strong.
He said: “There are currently no signs of significant market disruption arising from the new rules. While some mortgage lending indicators have eased back gently, this is from the very high levels of recent months.”
His comments came as the CML reported an estimated £15.4bn increase in March, with a 4 per cent rise in gross mortgage lending since February, 33 per cent higher than last March.
Jeremy Duncombe, director at Legal & General Mortgage Club, said: “At L&G we too are seeing mortgage lending increase, with our Q1 lending up 74 per cent on the same period last year, compared to a market increase of 37 per cent.”
He added that, with the recent Office for National Statistics figures, showing that real wages have overtaken inflation for the first time in four years, “it is likely that more people will be in a stronger position to get on the housing ladder”.
The CML report came as a report from the Halifax claimed that the housing market boom has led to a generation of young people who are increasingly pessimistic about their chances of getting on the property ladder.
One finding in the bank’s seven-page Generation Rent report is that a fifth, 21 per cent, of non-homeowners aged 20 to 45 have given up the prospect of owning a property. This rises to 43 per cent among 40 to 45-year-olds.
Brian Murphy, head of lending at Mortgage Advice Bureau, agreed that growth in the mortgage market shows no sign of abating.
He said: “Improving economic conditions, such as rising wages and falling unemployment, have helped to maintain consumer confidence cultivated by easier access to mortgage finance in 2013. Throw historically low mortgage rates into the mix, and buyers have had plenty of encouragement to look at getting finance to buy a new home.”
Adviser view
Mark Harris, chief executive of London-based mortgage broker SPF Private Clients, said: “Some borrowers may find the mortgage application process more protracted, but what is likely is that more borrowers will use a mortgage broker as intermediaries will be up-to-speed with the rules and have the advantage of being able to advise on products across the whole market.”
