Building societies see rise in mortgage approvals
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The value of mortgage approvals from building societies rose by £300m to £1.57bn in September, show figures from the Building Societies Association.
Gross lending by building societies was climbed to £1.6bn in September, compared with £1.49bn in August. and £3bn in September 2008.
But the BSA says that lending activity remains considerably subdued from the same time last year, when the value of mortgage approvals was at £2.62bn.
This is borne out in the net lending figures for building societies, which slumped to -£625m in September from £321m at the same time last year.
Deposits held by building societies fell by £511m while in September last year deposits rose by £500m.
Adrian Coles, director-general of the BSA, says: “Lending activity has recovered in recent months, when compared to the start of the year, as buyers and sellers tentatively return to the
market.”
But he adds: “Lending is still at levels much below that of previous years, and the slight recovery remains fragile.
“A further constraint on lending remains the conditions in mortgage funding markets, although wholesale markets have shown signs of opening up slightly.”
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