Iberia Securities, UK Mortgage lending Hits 8-Year Low...

Online, March 9, 2010 (Newswire.com) - "Iberia Securities", the Spanish-based asset management firm is apparently unsurprised that mortgage lending in Britain has fallen to an 8 year low following the ending of the stamp duty holiday.

The British Banker's Association released figures which showed that mortgage lending during January fell to just £8.02 billion.

Although the market enjoyed a brief respite during 2009 when a shortage of supply of property forced homebuyers to bid up prices, the figures show that the availability of mortgage finance is still constrained despite the Bank of England's efforts to spur lending.

"Iberia Securities" says that the ending of the stamp duty holiday has affected as many as 55 per cent of the houses on the market. In 2009, anyone buying a home worth less than £175,000 was exempt from the tax. The threshold has since been lowered to the original level of £125,000. This has helped push down the number of mortgages for house buyers from 45,650 in December to 35,083 in January.

"Iberia Securities" sources suggest that anyone trying to obtain conventional mortgage finance will undoubtedly face challenges unless they have a perfect credit score.