Mortgage lending sets new record

MORTGAGE lending soared to a new record during June boosted by renewed demand from homebuyers, figures showed today.

The Bank of England said total mortgage lending was £21.88bn - up from £20.49bn in May. Net lending, which strips out redemptions and repayments, also reached a record £7.81bn, suggesting the surge in lending was driven by people buying houses, rather than just people re-mortgaging to get a better deal.

Approvals for home loans were also strong, reaching a new high of £24.58bn, with 108,000 mortgages approved up from 91,000 the previous month.

But he added that the May's figure had been particularly weak, and June's figure may be just a pick up following that.