Mortgage lending 'down 20pc'

Total mortgage lending for 2008 will fall by 19.3 per cent year-on-year, it has been predicted by Datamonitor.

Total mortgage lending for 2008 will fall by 19.3 per cent year-on-year, it has been predicted by Datamonitor.

This year's predicted total lending, compared to that of 2007, shows a likely drop of almost a fifth according to the research group: a drop representative of the significant housing decline.

Karina Purang at Datamonitor said: "The consumer lending market has moved beyond recognition [since August 2007]."

"Lending markets are currently beset by high market uncertainties with the ongoing credit crunch, falling house prices, rising arrears and repossessions, and indebted consumers struggling to find credit."

With lending for the year is expected to fall short of the £300 billion mark, the figures go a long way to explain the lack of buyers in today's market place.

The figures arrive as GE Money Home Lending released research showing that 3.4 million potential buyers have been turned down for mortgages in the past 18 months, with almost half a million being rejected four times, demonstrating there is no shortage of demand for property.