New mortgage lending tumbled by 80 per cent in May, according to the Finance & Leasing Association, following last month’s announcement of a 69 per cent fall in April.
The exact number of new agreements in May numbered 486 while the value of new business came in at £21m, an 81 per cent fall on an annual basis.
In the three months to May, there were 3,221 new agreements valuing £145m, the FLA says, both numbers a 54 per cent drop on the year.
Meanwhile, in the 12 months to May, the FLA reports total of 24,767 new agreements being counted totalling some £1.1bn in value, a more modest drop of 3 per cent on both counts.
On these figures, FLA head of consumer and mortgage finance Fiona Hoyle says: “The severity of the lockdown restrictions on the second charge mortgage market is reflected in the record low level of new business volumes in May.
“The market, however, remains in a strong position to meet new demand and forbearance requests during the months ahead.
“Lenders are continuing to do all they can to support customers during this challenging period and customers experiencing payment difficulties should contact their lender as soon as possible.”
