BoE: New mortgage debt at `record low`

Last year, according to figures released by the Bank of England (BoE) recently, net mortgage lending fell to its lowest level since the Bank`s records began in 1987, The Telegraph reports.

Net lending - which `strips out redemptions and repayments` - was just £8.15bn during 2010.

Net mortgage lending contracted by £298 million during December, as homeowners repaid more debt than lenders advanced. It was only the third time the Bank has actually recorded a contraction in net mortgage lending.

As the Telegraph reports, lending levels `look set to remain subdued`, with the total number of mortgages approved for house purchase falling by 10% in December to its lowest level since March two years ago.

A combination of the credit crunch and problems in the housing market and the economy in general have led to lenders having less money to advance - and caused would-be borrowers to `sit on their hands`.