Mortgage lending up 10% year-on-year | Money | guardian.co.uk

Mortgage lending up 10% year-on-year | Money | guardian.co.uk

Mortgage lending fell by 14.4% in January 2012 but was 10% higher than the same month in 2011, as first-time buyers rushed to finalise house purchases before the end of the government's stamp duty holiday on properties worth up to £250,000.

Gross lending of £10.5bn marked the sixth month of year-on-year rises, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML). It said the deadline on 24 March for the end of the stamp duty-free period had boosted activity, while the month-on-month drop was due to an "expected" seasonal decline.

However, that seasonal decline was more marked than 12 months ago – the fall in lending from December 2010 to January 2011 was 10.15% compared to this year's 14.4% drop.