Alliance & Leicester: CML lending figures

Stephen Leonard, Director of Mortgages at Alliance & Leicester, says: “July saw £34.4 billion in mortgage lending, the second highest ever achieved, after record levels in June. These figures reflect the high level of market activity in the spring – before the last rate rise.

“Despite these record figures, affordability will continue to remain a key issue for many borrowers as fixed rates are now more than one per cent higher than two years ago.

“Lending volumes in the next few months are likely to be affected by the recent base rate rise, although we continue to expect a healthy level of completions for the year as a whole.”