29
Jun
Mortgage approvals still rising
The property market continued to pick up in May, according to
figures from the Bank of England.
The number of mortgages approved for house buying rose to
43,414, up from the figure of 43,191 the month before.
It was the fourth month in a row that approvals have risen,
suggesting that the recent increase in sales is likely to
continue.
Recent evidence from lenders has also suggested that the slump
in house prices is slowing down.
Separately, the Building Societies Association (BSA) said
approvals by its members in May were still about 35% lower than in
May last year.
"Therefore, while the mortgage market appears to have recovered
slightly from the start of the year, levels of activity remain
depressed," said the BSA's director general Adrian Coles.
Building societies saw their savers withdraw more money than
they put in, for the third month in a row.
And net lending by societies shrank for the fifth month in a
row, reflecting the fact that people have been repaying their
mortgages at a faster rate than they have been taking out new home
loans.
"Those banks that are supported by the state are able to compete
unfairly for retail deposits, and steps need to be taken to ensure
that government backing for some institutions does not distort
competition for savings," complained Mr Coles.
"These pressures are exacerbated by the current low interest
rate environment; there is evidence that households are looking to
repay debt rather than save," he added.
source: www.bbc.co.uk/news Monday
29th June 2009