New figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders have shown that first time buyers will find it increasingly difficult to get onto the property ladder. The number of new loans granted in April dropped by 36 per cent, whilst the average deposit rose to 13 per cent its highest figure for three years. Meanwhile, gross mortgage lending was down by 5 per cent on the previous year.
Despite the negatives, there was some good news as overall gross mortgage lending increased by 8 per cent to £26.1 billion following two consecutive months of decline. Overall lending increased by 8 per cent to £26.1 billion, though after a month in which lending was down by 24 per cent on the previous year, the increase is a moderate one. Furthermore, although first time buyers were granted 18,500 loans during April, representing a 4 per cent increase on the previous month, that figure was down by 36 per cent on the same month last year.
In light of the figures, the Council of Mortgage Lenders voiced their opinion that the UK home loan market would continue to struggle, experiencing a slight decline over the rest of 2008.





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