British net underlying mortgage lending picked up in July, the British Bankers' Association (BBA) said today.
The BBA said mortgage lending rose £5.7 billion (€8.4 billion) last month, up from £5.4 billion in June and above the recent monthly average, suggesting the housing market is still weathering five interest rate hikes in the past year.
But figures from the Building Societies Association (BSA) showed mortgage lending growth easing. Building societies account for just less than 20 per cent of residential mortgages. Net advances were also lower at £0.6 billion in July versus £0.9 billion in June and £1.4 billion in July 2006.
"This is a tale of the five interest rate rises in the last year feeding through to the market," said Adrian Coles, BSA director general. "The strong start to the year has fallen away."
The Bank of England has said it has seen signs of the housing market softening after raising interest rates to 5.75 per cent from 4.5 per cent since last August to curb inflation.
House price inflation in England and Wales picked up to an annual 12.8 per cent in early August from 10.3 percent in early July, property website Rightmove said today.