New figures from the British Bankers Association advise that mortgage lending in 2015 rose by 6%. They also advised that monthly mortgage approvals soared 24% year on year in December 2015. This is very positive and shows a slight conflict in relation to the property market figures. My feeling is that there was a slowdown in Quarter 4 2015 and that January got off to a slow start but has picked up at a frenetic pace in the last two weeks. As I have mentioned before, the figure that I am really looking for is how many properties come on the market in Quarter 1 2016, as this will be the litmus test for the rest of the year.
Lindsay Darroch
Partner – Head of Property
www.blackadders.co.uk
