UK: Mortgage Approvals at Lowest Level Since Records Began
June 30th, 2008Via: Guardian:
The number of mortgages approved for house purchases dropped sharply in May to its lowest level since records began in 1993, figures showed today.
The Bank of England said 42,000 mortgages were approved for purchases during the month, down from 58,000 in April and 63,000 in March.
This is the thirteenth month running that approval rates have fallen and the figure for May is 64% below that for the same period last year.
The value of loans approved for house purchases has almost halved since February, falling from £10.4bn to £5.8bn, and is running well below the previous six-month average of £10bn.
Industry experts had been predicting that approvals and net lending, which strips out repayments and redemptions, would be down over the month due to continued turmoil in the mortgage market and concerns about house prices.
However, the rate of the fall in approvals was much steeper than expected.
