Gross mortgage lending in June totalled an estimated £11.9 billion, which represents a 5% fall both from the previous month (£12.5 billion) and from June 2011 (£12.6 billion), the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has reported.

Gross lending for the second quarter of 2012 was an estimated £34.2 billion, a 2% increase from the first three months of this year (£33.6 billion) and a 3% increase from the second quarter of 2011 (£33.3 billion).

Lending in the first half of this year totalled £67.9 billion. This is 7% higher than the first six months of 2011 (£63.7 billion).

“Mortgage lending has experienced something of a see-saw pattern over recent months, largely reflecting the short-term spike and subsequent trough in house purchase activity associated with the ending of the stamp duty concession for first-time buyers in late March,” said CML chief economist Bob Pannell.

“Weaker mortgage lending in June points to a more subdued tone for the housing market in line with that for the wider economy.

“The recent launch of the funding for lending scheme (FLS) comes at a time when credibility in further quantitative easing had started to wane. FLS will help guard against a contraction in lending over the next 18 months and, if the external environment is sufficiently supportive, should underpin the housing market and support the government’s wider growth agenda.”