Mortgage lending last year was down about 30% on the 2007 figures and in the final quarter was running at well below half the peak level, according to the latest figures from .

CML expects the level of lending to drop further in coming months, which may well translate into a further fall in the level of transactions.

The December figure for mortgage lending was particularly bad at £12,600 million placing it as the lowest month for lending in the lowest quarter since late 2001.