Mortgage Boom - or Bust

Recent talk within the housing market of a possible slow down, marking an end to the mini boom

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which has been gradually pushing house prices up across the country, seem to have been premature. The latest figures from the British Bankers' Association (BAA) indicate that mortgage lending for May has just received its biggest boost for more than two years.

David Dooks, BBA director of statistics, said, "May's rise in net mortgage lending, the largest monthly increase since the rise of £6bn in April two years ago, shows the mortgage market to be very much alive at a time when annual house price growth is strengthening. Overall unsecured lending rose more than the recent monthly average, but a notable aspect within this was a second large net fall in credit card borrowing in the last three months. This contrast between secured and card borrowing reflects customer sentiment."

The upturn in mortgage lending indicated by the BAA concurs with other recent surveys from the UK's biggest mortgage lender, the Halifax, which shows house prices increasing again following a period of stagnation.

Howard Archer, from Global Insight economic consultancy, announced that the robust levels of, "Mortgage lending and approvals in May indicate that reports of the death of the 'mini-boom' in the housing market are premature." He also suggested that, "House prices will see further strength in the near term at least, after showing recent tentative signs of coming off the boil."

This is good news for the main mortgage providers, however research from Direct Line Mortgages indicates that it is not only standard mortgage ( life insurance quotes ) companies that are set to reap the rewards from this increase in house buying. The online mortgage market was singled out by Direct Line for a huge upturn in popularity; with nearly twice as many people than previous surveyed stating that they would apply for a mortgage online if they knew they were getting the ( life assurance ) cheapest deal available.

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