Legal & General: Bank of England lending figures

Ben Thompson, Director of Mortgages at Legal & General said: “The Bank of England lending figures clearly show that the volume of mortgages taken out for house purchases is dropping, which is a further indication that the credit crunch is tightening it’s stranglehold on the market. Our own research from our mortgage network indicates that two thirds of advisers expect house purchases to represent under 40% of the mortgage business next quarter but they expect remortgage activity to make up the difference as more and more people scramble for a new deal once their rate comes to an end. The Bank of England indicates that the value of remortgage lending last month was way above the previous six month average. We expect this trend to continue throughout the spring.”