Mortgage lending still subdued say banks
Mortgage lending to house buyers is still subdued, according to the British Bankers’ Association.
Its latest figures show that the number of mortgages approved in February by the big banks was 35,275,
This was only slightly higher than in January when 35,154 loans to home buyers were approved.
The BBA said the market was still depressed by a rush by buyers to beat the end of the stamp duty holiday at the end of last year.
“House purchase approvals were some 16% higher than in February last year but still well below the figure in December as the aftermath of the year-end change to stamp duty was still working through,” said David Dooks of the BBA.
“The average value of house purchase approvals (?140,800) was 11.5% higher than a year ago.
“Volumes of remortgaging and equity withdrawal approvals continued to be lower than a year earlier,” he added.
In February 2009, mortgage approvals stood at 30,457 as lending started to recover steadily through the year.
That upward trend has been brought to a halt, at least temporarily, as a result of the stamp duty threshold being brought back down from ?175,000 to ?125,000.
Related posts:
- Homebuyer mortgages rise but housing market in UK remains flat
- Mortgage lending to worsen after 19% slump
- Mortgage approvals fall to series low in July
- Mortgage rescue plans due
- Bad Credit Mortgage Refinance