According to recent figures released by the Council of Mortgage Lenders, mortgage lending figures continued to drop in March. Compared with figures of 2010, a fall of 2% to 11.3 billion pounds took place. The monthly lending figure for March was an increase of more than 20% compared with February. These figures come in the wake of a report from Datamonitor. The analyst believes most people will have to wait another three years before home loans are easier to come by.

The CML believes that a recent drop in inflation could delay a hike in interest rates until later this year. This will result in possibly some favorable months for the housing market in general.

Bob Pannell, chief economist at the CML, commented on what the most recently released figures could mean for the housing market, saying: "The housing market has emerged hesitantly from hibernation. Household finances are under a lot of pressure, and as a result demand for house purchase loans fell in the first three months of 2011. Lenders expect mortgage credit availability to improve this quarter, and this should help to underpin house purchase activity, albeit at pretty low levels.

"Remortgage demand, meanwhile, continues to firm, presumably linked to expectations of higher base rates. Remortgage approvals in February were the highest for more than two years. Stronger remortgage activity looks set to continue propping up overall lending."

Chief executive of dragonfly property finance, Jonathan Samuels, discussed the mortgage lending figures in historical terms, saying: "Mortgage lending may be up in March, but it's still down in historical terms. We certainly don't see this as the beginning of a trend given current conditions. For the rest of the year and on into 2012 the mainstream mortgage market – and house prices generally – will continue to flatline.

"Consumers are worried about their jobs and the direction of interest rates, which will affect their already stretched finances, and so are putting the biggest financial commitment of their lives on hold. High street lenders, meanwhile, are still in hiding and are only opening their arms to flawless, equity-rich applicants. Unfortunately, two negatives in the mortgage world do not make a positive."