News Review


Gross mortgage lending jumps 16% in June By Yuan Phoon


gross mortgage lending increased 16% from may to June totalling an estimated £12.6bn revealed the council of mortgage Lenders. although the gross


mortgage lending figure was 3% lower than June 2010, it was the highest monthly total since July last year which was £13.3bn. Bob Pannell, chief


economist at the cmL, said: “the uK economy continues to experience disappointing economic growth, strong consumer price pressures, falling disposable incomes and an uncertain jobs market. “this backdrop weighs


negatively on purchase decisions relating to home ownership. By contrast, landlord activity appears to


Conveyancers braced for market


turbulence By Yuan Phoon


the conveyancing


association raised concerns about the continued policy carried out by lenders to reduce their panels in order to manage their risk to mortgage fraud. eddie goldsmith, chairman the


of association,


conveyancing said: “if


conveyancers don’t re-assess their business models, don’t improve their standards or qualities


and don’t


demonstrate effective fraud prevention methods, they will simply lose business.” conveyancers aware that


have picked up recently and, with evidence of strong rental demand, this should help to underpin activity over the coming months.” Brian murphy, head of


lending at independent mortgage broker, mortgage advice Bureau, said: “the mortgage market is still down but it is by no means out, as the June figures clearly demonstrate. “the backlog of people


applying for mortgages during may clearly bolstered the number of mortgage advances in June. “as the cmL rightly the amateur


observes,


landlord, drawn by the strength of the rentals market, has returned and this will add to activity levels moving forward.”


quality will set them apart are seeking to become accredited under the Law Society’s conveyancing Quality Scheme. openconvey confirmed


last month that every member of its conveyancing panel has applied for or already been accredited. Joe Withers, business


development director at openconvey, said: “With the implementation of the new standards criteria provided by cQS, intermediaries who recommend a cQS accredited legal practice to their clients will benefit not only from the peace of mind of making a good choice for their clients but will also be more in control of the whole house buying and mortgage process as well as enjoying the extra referral income that can be generated through referral.”


4 mortgage introducer AUGUST 2011 the Bank of england’s


credit conditions survey for the three months to 30 June reported that buy-to-let had underpinned lending activity in recent months. evidence of strong rental


demand reported by the association of residential Letting agents and better availability of buy-to-let mortgage products revealed by moneyfacts support this theory. the Boe’s trends in


Lending publication, said gross secured lending had been broadly unchanged over the past year however in contrast, lending to the buy- to-let market strengthened. the Boe also said that in


the three months to may, gross mortgage lending for house purchase was similar to that


that


anticipating opportunities lie in quality


conveyancers, LSL Property Services and connells have acquired interest in Legal marketing Services and LmS direct conveyancing through an investment in its parent company, cybele Solutions Holdings. andy Knee, managing


director at LmS, said: “this new joint venture will allow us to open up mutually beneficial


business


opportunities allowing us to provide our flexible and effective solutions to the emerging needs of lenders that bulk conveyancing firms will find difficult to match.” this october, the Legal


Services act also comes into play and will allow external investment and ownership of law firms for the first time. John malone, executive


in the previous three months. remortgaging activity had


fallen back slightly since the start of the year which some major uK lenders attributed to diminished prospects for an imminent increase in bank rate. david Whittaker, managing


director of mortgages for Business, said: “While the buy-to-let market has been key to underpinning lending activity over the first half of 2011, product pricing was the one reservation that held landlords back slightly in Q2. “improving competition


between lenders has caused a reduction in margin over the past two months though which has started to create genuine positive cash-flow on properties with supporting debt.


chairman of PmS last month predicted that it will mean the rise of “pile ‘em high, sell ‘ em cheap legal services” on offer from big consumer brands. malone said: “i see larger


firms like Sesame Bankhall starting to offer their members access to legal services like probate, estate planning, inheritance tax planning and will writing – that’s where the money is.” Sesame Bankhall group


launched its own legal panel in July consisting of optima Legal, Shoosmiths, Breeze & Wyles and o’neill Patient. eddie goldsmith said:


“there’s certainly scope for big brands like Virgin money, tesco or co-operative to come in and upset the existing legal market by offering a good service for consumers.”


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