Charles McDowell, Commercial Director, Mortgages from Aldermore Bank comments: “The latest figures released from the Council of Mortgage Lenders are a positive sign of the increasing strength of the UK’s housing market, and this is supported by the fact that the total lending of £18.9bn in January is the highest total for this month since 2008. The figures pertaining to first time buyers are also very encouraging as we believe this group continues to be the driving force of the property market. However, more needs to be done to support first time buyers in their endeavour to get on the housing ladder, namely by addressing the lack of housing supply. This issue is likely to be exaggerated by the stagnating level of home movers, which has remained at a similar level for three years. In the Housing White paper the Government stated it will focus on delivering the right type of housing in the right places through a new assessment of housing needs, and this is something we fully support to better provide for first time buyers.” *Ends* For further information about Aldermore, please review our Notes to Editors page Follow us on Twitter: @AldermoreNews