Graham Bishop.com

The European Mortgage Federation published its regular quarterly report for the 1st quarter of 2012.

The main findings and conclusions from report are:

The unfavourable macro-economic environment continued to affect new mortgage lending negatively in Q1 2012, with a year-on-year decrease in new lending for at least three consecutive quarters in Belgium, France, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, Spain and Sweden.
Housing markets’ conditions remained divergent across the EU. Whilst year-on-year house prices continued to increase in Belgium, France and Germany, decreasing house prices were still recorded in Denmark, Hungary, Ireland, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain and Sweden.
In the UK, the prices posted their first increase since Q1 2011. In Q1 2012, the numbers of building permits and housing completions fell to historical lows in several countries.
Mortgage interest rates in the EU recorded small movements in Q1 2012, as a result of moderate monetary policy easing.