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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
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| Mortgage lending in seasonal rise | Mortgage lending in seasonal rise |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| Mortgage lending picked up in March, according to figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML). | Mortgage lending picked up in March, according to figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML). |
| Gross lending stood at £11.5bn, up by 16% from February but still less than half the amount lent in March 2008. | Gross lending stood at £11.5bn, up by 16% from February but still less than half the amount lent in March 2008. |
| Earlier HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) figures showed there had been a 40% jump in home sales in March. | |
| The CML said the March increase was a normal seasonal rise and warned that lending and house sales would remain low for the "foreseeable future." | The CML said the March increase was a normal seasonal rise and warned that lending and house sales would remain low for the "foreseeable future." |
| Despite the jump in March, the lending figures for the first three months of the year were the lowest for any quarter since the start of 2001. | Despite the jump in March, the lending figures for the first three months of the year were the lowest for any quarter since the start of 2001. |
| However Michael Coogan, director general of the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) said the latest figures were a step in the right direction. | However Michael Coogan, director general of the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) said the latest figures were a step in the right direction. |
| "It's a seasonal factor here that people start to look around to move house in the middle of the better weather," he said. | "It's a seasonal factor here that people start to look around to move house in the middle of the better weather," he said. |
| "What we said at the beginning of the year was that we expected over the course of 2009, £145bn to be lent, and we are on track with that forecast, and that has to be compared with £363bn in 2007," he added. | "What we said at the beginning of the year was that we expected over the course of 2009, £145bn to be lent, and we are on track with that forecast, and that has to be compared with £363bn in 2007," he added. |
| Picking up | Picking up |
| A growing number of indicators now suggest that sales may have hit rock-bottom after the dramatic slump of 2008, and could now be starting to rise. | A growing number of indicators now suggest that sales may have hit rock-bottom after the dramatic slump of 2008, and could now be starting to rise. |
| The HMRC's figures showed 60,000 property sales in March worth at least £40,000 each, compared with 43,000 in February. | The HMRC's figures showed 60,000 property sales in March worth at least £40,000 each, compared with 43,000 in February. |
| The number of mortgages approved but not yet lent, a key indicator of future activity, has also risen recently according to the Bank of England. | The number of mortgages approved but not yet lent, a key indicator of future activity, has also risen recently according to the Bank of England. |
| And during the past few months estate agents have been reporting a rise in the number of enquiries from potential buyers. | And during the past few months estate agents have been reporting a rise in the number of enquiries from potential buyers. |
| "House price activity is beginning to pick up to a limited extent in response to the substantial fall in house prices from their 2007 peak levels and markedly reduced mortgage rates," said Howard Archer, chief economist at IHS Global Insight. | "House price activity is beginning to pick up to a limited extent in response to the substantial fall in house prices from their 2007 peak levels and markedly reduced mortgage rates," said Howard Archer, chief economist at IHS Global Insight. |