Mortgage brokers have claimed that mortgage lending to home buyers has fallen for the second month in a row.

The latest figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) say that the number of mortgages given to first time buyers was down 3% in September.

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However, despite the figure falling for two consecutive months it is still 16% higher than September 2013.

Paul Smee, director general of the CML, said: "Fears that the market is going to keep on overheating have rather gone away. The market seems in a much more stable pattern at the moment.

"I think what a lot of people are thinking about is that the next move in interest rates is going to be up, so there is perhaps a bit of caution around about people overextending themselves."

(MH/IT)