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2 Mar 08 - Mortgage Approvals Bounce Back
Mortgage approvals for homebuyers bounced back in January
after seven consecutive months of falls, new figures show.
The Bank of England said a total of 74,000 new mortgages
were approved for house purchase during the month, up from
72,000 in December.
But this is still down almost 40% on the 121,000 mortgages
granted in January last year.
Vicky Redwood, an economist from Capital Economics, said:
"January's household borrowing figures suggest that
housing market activity has stabilised, at least temporarily.
"The number of mortgage approvals for new house purchase
remains around 40% lower than a year ago, but at least the
rise from 72,000 to 74,000 brought an end of the recent
run of falls."
But she warned: "However, the previous drops have
not yet had their full impact on house prices."
Meanwhile, figures from the Building Societies Association
show mortgage lending remained strong in January at £4.1bn.
This is a rise on the £3.67bn recorded in December,
while net lending also rose to £1.26bn in January
from £1.06bn a month earlier.
News items supplied by SelectNews, produced by PA Business,
part of the group that owns The Press Association, the UK's
national news agency. Copyright (c) PA Business 2007.
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