moneysupermarket.com: CML January mortgage lending figures

Commenting on CML figures demonstrating the increasing decline of mortgage lending in January, Louise Cuming, head of mortgages at moneysupermarket.com, said: "Mortgage lending is at its lowest ebb for over 35 years. In that time the base rate has seen dizzying highs of 17 per cent, yet now, with rates at an all time low, providers simply don't want to lend.

"So we find ourselves at a unique moment in the history of the mortgage market. The demand for housing may never cease, but the desire to lend can fluctuate wildly. The real cause of this stagnation isn't that people don't want mortgages; it's that lenders are unwilling to lend at affordable levels to anyone other than cast iron certainties.

"A more reasonable approach from lenders is required; whilst a certain amount of risk aversion is understandable and something we should encourage, the current fear of taking on mortgage debt is being taken to an unnecessary degree and is excluding potential home buyers who are clearly able to make repayments."