Gross mortgage lending steady year-on-year

The Council of Mortgage Lenders estimates that gross mortgage lending reached £16.9 billion in November.

This is 9% lower than October (£18.6 billion), and matches the £16.9 billion seen in November last year.

Commenting on market conditions in this month’s market commentary, CML economist Mohammad Jamei observes: "Current activity in the housing market has eased with transactions back down to levels seen almost a year ago.

"The reform in stamp duty is likely to provide a modest short-term boost in activity over the next few months, but its impact will fade away in the medium term."

Earlier this week we published our market forecasts for the next two years. We expect mortgage lending to grow in 2015 and 2016, but more slowly than this year. The gentle trajectory for the mortgage market should calm macro-prudential concerns.