Stamp duty rise hits mortgage borrowing

Generic couple outside estate agent window

There was a rush to complete deals at the end of 2009

Mortgage lending in the UK dropped sharply in January owing to a hangover from the rush to buy homes before the stamp duty holiday ended, lenders say.

Gross lending for home loans fell by 32% compared with December to £9.1bn, the Council of Mortgage Lenders said.

It suggested the decline was due in part to the threshold for paying stamp duty rising at the start of 2010.

However, the figure was 21% lower than January 2009 and the lowest monthly total since February 2000.

Expected fall?

Seasonal factors mean that mortgage lending usually falls in January compared with December, but lenders say that the drop was particularly pronounced this year.

The market started 2010 in better shape than most would have predicted 12 months ago

Paul Samter, Council of Mortgage Lenders

The lull after the changes to the stamp duty threshold were the main reason behind this, according Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) economist Paul Samter.

"Recent developments have been influenced by the end of the stamp duty holiday, and are likely to foreshadow a larger than usual seasonal drop off in activity in the early part of this year," he said.

The stamp duty threshold dropped back to £125,000 on 1 January, prompting a rush on mortgage approvals and completed home sales in the final months of 2009.

The government concession, which had temporarily pushed the threshold up to £175,000 for just over a year, had been aimed at halting the rapid slump in the property market.

Future picture

However, January's gross mortgage lending figure is the lowest monthly total since February 2000 (£7.9bn) and the lowest January total since 2000 (£7.4bn).

Mr Samter argued that there was "uncertainty" in the market, even though lenders had seen a more rosy picture in recent months.

"The market certainly improved over the second half of last year and started 2010 in better shape than most would have predicted 12 months ago," he said.

"The Bank of England is likely to keep rates low which should continue to mitigate mortgage payment problems and help cushion borrowers from the worst of the recession."

The Bank rate has remained at a historic low of 0.5% since March 2009.

Brian Murphy, head of lending at the mortgage broker, Mortgage Advice Bureau, agreed that the market was in better shape than a year ago, and so a greater choice of mortgages were available for homeowners.

"This time last year the mortgage market was in a coma, but in the past three to four months a lot more products have become available, as lenders once again start fighting for market share," he said.

"But while more competitive rates are starting to emerge at higher loan-to-value levels, you still need a faultless credit history if you are to secure a loan."

He argued that it should not be taken for granted that interest rates would remain low.

The Bank of England's own Trends in Lending report also found that activity in the housing market has dipped owing to the recent poor weather.