Britons inject 8.6 billion pounds of housing equity

Published 31st Dec 2011

Britons injected 8.6 billion pounds of equity into their homes between July and September, Bank of England data showed on Friday, highlighting the weak state of the housing market.

That was the smallest injection since the third quarter of 2010 and a decrease from an upwardly revised 9.6 billion pound injection in the second quarter, which had been the highest since records began in 1970.

The equity injection in the third quarter was equivalent to 3.3 percent of post-tax income.

The BoE said the figures reflected continuing weakness in the net flow of lending secured on dwellings -- mortgage lending -- which remained weaker than investment in housing.

Britons have injected equity into their homes since the start of the financial crisis, reversing the trend of home equity withdrawal to fund other spending that had dominated the previous decade.

The BoE said that the trend had not been associated with an increase in repayments of secured debt, but was an indication of both lower housing market activity and a reduction in remortgaging.

Source: ' Reuters '

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