So just how far has the mortgage lending market shrunk? Accoprding to the CEO of the Mortgage Advice Bureau, Peter Brodnicki it will fall to a new low this year of £125bn.
That compares to £135bn last year and is massively below the £360bn figure at the property market's height a few years ago.
There are several factors according to Brodnicki; the decline of the interest only loan, lenders demanding higher deposits, some lenders such as Santander bringing less funding to the market (£10bn less in 2012) and the ending of the Stamp Duty holiday for first-time buyers in March.
Another factor he doesn't mention, but must surely be an important one, is confidence. When there is so much uncertainty for many people around job security and the possible knock-on effect of the troubles in the euro-zone, who wants to risk taking on a mortgage?
