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| UK housing market picking up, figures suggest | UK housing market picking up, figures suggest |
| (36 minutes later) | |
| The UK housing market is seeing a slight pick-up in activity with mortgage lending and prices both rising, figures have suggested. | The UK housing market is seeing a slight pick-up in activity with mortgage lending and prices both rising, figures have suggested. |
| Gross mortgage lending was up 4% in April, compared with March, to £12.1bn, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML). | Gross mortgage lending was up 4% in April, compared with March, to £12.1bn, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML). |
| This was 21% higher than April 2012, but this data is skewed by the end of the stamp duty concession a year ago. | This was 21% higher than April 2012, but this data is skewed by the end of the stamp duty concession a year ago. |
| Official figures show UK house prices rose by 2.7% in the year to March. | Official figures show UK house prices rose by 2.7% in the year to March. |
| However, this was driven by rises in England and Wales, with property price falls in Scotland and Northern Ireland, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). | However, this was driven by rises in England and Wales, with property price falls in Scotland and Northern Ireland, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). |
| 'Reasonable recovery' | |
| The CML said that, while the lending figures showed an increase in activity, this was not a return to the boom of the previous decade. | |
| April was one of the "strongest months" for lending activity since 2008, said CML chief economist Bob Pannell. However, lending was still running at half the level seen in 2003-04. | |
| "The underlying picture overall is one of reasonable rather than dramatic recovery," he said. | |
| The big rise compared with a year ago was the result of a sharp drop in house buying in April 2012, following the end of a stamp duty concession. | |
| First-time buyers were exempt from paying stamp duty on properties that cost less than £250,000 until the concession ended on 24 March, 2012. | |
| Mark Harris, chief executive of mortgage broker SPF Private Clients, said: "The mortgage market is recovering. The continued availability of extremely competitive rates across the spectrum will help inspire confidence and should continue to boost the housing market." | |
| Geographical differences | |
| Meanwhile, house prices have been rising steadily, according to ONS figures, although the picture is not consistent across the UK. | |
| Prices rose by 7.6% in London in the 12 months to the end of March. Estate agents believe that this is driven in part by overseas buyers being attracted to the capital. | |
| In contrast, prices fell by 2% in Northern Ireland, and by 1.7% in Scotland, over the same period. | |
| UK house prices increased by 0.4% between February and March, the ONS said, with the average home valued at £235,000. |