British lenders predict major drop in house sales

The Council of Mortgage Lenders in the UK today forecast a 35% fall in the number of property transactions in England and Wales this year.

The organisation, which represents banks and building societies, is also braced for house prices to fall by around 7% in 2008.

The CML updated its forecasts at the same time as it reported gross mortgage lending of around £25.3bn (€31.6bn) in April, a 5% increase from March but an 8% decline on the same month a year earlier.