moneysupermarket.com: CML July lending figures

Commenting on the CML lending figures for July, Hannah-Mercedes Skenfield, mortgages spokesperson at moneysupermarket.com, said; "These figures provide further evidence that the wheels of the housing market are beginning to turn once more. moneysupermarket.com search figures concur with what the CML is saying, and we predict from our August search data that the upwards trend in house purchase lending is set to continue.

The proportion of people visiting moneysupermarket.com looking for a mortgage to buy a property has risen by a fifth since January. At the same time, remortgage searches fell by a third at the end of August, showing a big shift in consumer sentiment.

"Our figures also suggest the popularity of fixed rate mortgages is beginning to wane, with searches for these products falling in August and the first two weeks of September. With economic commentators more confident the Base Rate will remain at 0.5 per cent for the foreseeable future, more consumers are perhaps willing to take a gamble on a discount or tracker mortgage, no doubt spurred on by the recent launches of low rate discount and tracker deals from HSBC and First Direct. I would urge some caution though, and remind borrowers that rates will eventually rise and when they do, these headline rate deals may not be so attractive."

Although many lenders have barely recognized the dramatic fall in base rates and have kept their mortgage deals relatively expensive, there are some good deals to be had, so consumers should make sure they shop around to get them."