Gross mortgage lending drops 60%: CML

Gross mortgage lending declined to an estimated £10.4bn in April, down 9% from £11.4bn in March and 60% down from £26.1bn in April 2008, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML).

Michael Coogan, director general of the CML, said it was still too early to spot a clear pattern of recovery in the housing market as some commentators had suggested.

He says: "Activity remains weak, and we have said we will see volatility in monthly lending figures as we bounce along at the bottom of the market. Our forecast for gross lending of £145bn in 2009 remains unchanged."

Andrew Montlake, spokesman for independent mortgage broker, Coreco, said that despite the dip in gross lending, there was still a sense that the worst was behind the market, although any recovery was going take time and suffer setbacks.

He adds: "It is a case of two steps forward and one step back. Although some innovative new mortgage products have been launched recently, the fate of the property market is still very much in the hands of the lenders."