Mortgage lending hit new Dec record

Lending in December was down by 11% on the all-time record of £33.1bn reached in November, but up by 8% on the £27bn of lending in December 2005. The figures also reveal a record £346bn was lent in 2006 as a whole – a 20% increase from 2005 – which the CML says was fuelled by annual house price growth of around 7% coupled with a 14% increase in the number of house sales. Michael Coogan, director general of the CML, says: “The commentators who thought the housing market would crash in 2006 were wrong. Last year the market proved itself to be in robust shape and we expect it to remain s...