Mortgage approvals plummet in January
Share
The number of mortgages approved for house purchase dropped to 48,198 in January, the lowest level for eight months.
Figures from the Bank of England show that mortgage approvals have fallen from 58,223 in December and are also down against the average of 55,924 over the last six months.
Remortgage approvals also dropped to 23,611 in January, from 27,322 in December and again below the previous six-month average of 27,226.
Total net lending to individuals rose by £2bn in January and within that total net lending secured on dwellings increased by £1.5bn.
Net lending secured on dwellings is above December’s increase of £1.2bn and up on the previous six-month average of £1bn.
Benjamin Williamson, economist at the Centre for Economics and Business Research, says: “A steep fall in lending had largely been expected having been preceded by similar data from the British Bankers’ Association and the Council of Mortgage Lenders last month.
“The steep drop can be reasonably attributed to the bad weather and the fall in the Stamp Duty threshold to £125,00 from £175,000.
“However, the naysayers will undoubtedly suggest that the seasonally adjusted relapse represents a sign of things to come.”
If you enjoyed this article, sign up here to receive daily email updates from Mortgage Strategy and Follow @mortgagestrat
Readers' comments (1)
Andrew Botte | 1 Mar 2010 11:56 am
For a minute there I thought it might be down to house price uncertainty, demands for large deposits in the main for FTB's and a reluctance to market property due to HIPS. Not to mention the compliance / criteria issues for many who in the past elected to take interest only products, self certification and those who needed to borrow into retirement.
Joe average is all borrowed out and probably sitting at 85% LTV. Worse still for those in ex local authority housing who are probably completely unable to remortgage due to a tightening of product criteria and the reduced valuations that have hit hard in this sector for the last 2 years.
The bad weather excuse could only come from an economist or politician!
Unsuitable or offensive? Report this comment