According to latest data from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML), mortgage lending has declined by 14% this year. At present, mortgage lending is at £9.8bn, low from £11.4bn in April.

CML said that the decline in prices was expected because of the Easter holidays in April this year.

Bob Pannell, Chief Economist at the CML, said, “Statistical noise, associated with extended holidays around Easter and the royal wedding, makes it harder to read the immediate market situation”. He added that the number of people remortgaging is likely to fall because of the rise in interest rates.

Average house price figures from Halifax and Nationwide reveal 1.4% and 0.2% falls in April respectively. Howard Archer, Chief Economist at IHS Global Insight, said that there was little doubt that housing market activity remains very weak compared to long-term declines, even if it has increased slightly.

Brian Murphy, Head of Lending at Independent Mortgage Broker, the Mortgage Advice Bureau said that there will be re-pricing of the houses, which is a great news for the buyers and also there are very few competitive rates in the market.