HML. Homeloan Management Ltd

It was nice, at long last, to read some good news about the mortgage market.

The CML recently announced that in November the volume of lending for house purchase rose by 4% over the previous month and 3% year-on-year, with 47,000 loans being completed worth £6.9 billion.

The volume of lending to first-time buyers was also up by 4% (over the previous month and year-on-year) and the additional good news for those getting a foot on the first rung of the housing ladder is that the proportion of their income which is accounted for by mortgage payments is also falling (12.2%). Funding may continue to be tight but, for those who can secure mortgages, monthly payments have never been cheaper.

And the CML is optimistic that this upward trend in lending activity will continue over the next few months. CML director general Paul Smee said: “We expect a further increase in first-time buyer activity over the next few months as they push through their purchases to take advantage of the stamp duty concession before it ends in March.”

Excellent - something to be positive about.

We need to remember, of course, that this upswing in fortunes is from a low base and the CML’s overall forecast for 2012 is that the UK mortgage market will remain flat, with gross lending of approximately £133bn, compared to £138bn last year and £136bn in 2010.

One swallow doesn’t make a summer of course and if this is a recovery (talk of a recession is still rife), it is fragile and wouldn’t need to take much of a hit to be derailed.

Nonetheless, for those businesses that have survived until this point, their cost bases should be stable. Now could be the time to give consideration to combining cost efficiencies with the ability to swiftly respond to future market changes makes.

This is what the outsourcing model is designed to do, and after proving itself in the toughest of times, it offers the flexibility to succeed when things are a little easier.