Grounds for conveyancing optimism in 2013, says CML

Published: 04/01/2013

Following estimation from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) that gross lending was £12.9bn in November, there is an overall belief that the property market will continue to recover during 2013.

2012 reality surpassed the CML’s predictions with property transactions, gross lending and net lending all coming in ahead of its forecast and therefore providing a springboard into next year.

CML Predictions for 2012 vs. 2012 Activity

The CML is now predicting net lending to increase to £12bn in 2013 with 950,000 property transactions expected. While these figures remain a long way behind the abnormal boom experienced before the financial crisis, activity is slowly and steadily heading in a positive direction, in part due to the Funding for Lending Scheme (FLS).

Bob Pannell is the CML Chief Economist:

“Whereas the FLS was conceived by the UK authorities to mitigate the worst impacts of a potential fresh credit crunch, its launch has in fact coincided with a more positive external funding environment, in part due to European Central Bank actions. Given this more benign context, in our view the FLS now has the potential to underpin a modest pick-in mortgage lending activity… A key test, however, will be the extent to which greater borrower appetite materialises in response to better credit availability.”

Content correct at time of publication