With a larger rise in the number of loans for house purchase advanced in Scotland during the second quarter of 2010 than that seen in the UK as a whole, including an 18% increase in volume to First Time Buyers, new statistics published today by the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) were described as “encouraging” by home building industry body Homes for Scotland.

At the same time, however, the organisation warned that the impact of potentially extreme proposals put forward by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) in its Mortgage Market Review posed a significant risk to any sustained recovery in the mortgage market.

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Chief Executive Jonathan Fair said: “Whilst the CML statistics are welcome and encouraging news, they must be seen in the context of what remains a very low base. They should not be viewed as the start of a return to more normalised lending levels as this still remains a distant dream.

“In fact, current FSA proposals to tighten regulation would have a massive impact on people’s ability to secure a mortgage if they go ahead – a consequence which is in stark contrast to recent Scottish Government research showing a significant increase in the aspirations of Scots to own their own home despite the impact of the credit crunch.”

(GK/KMcA)