BoE: Mortgage approvals continue to rise

Permalink: BoE: Mortgage approvals continue to rise
by Kay Murchie

According to the Bank of England, the number of mortgages approved during July rose to its highest level since April 2008 and represented the sixth consecutive month that approvals rose.

According to the Bank, the number of mortgages approved grew to 50,123 in July compared with 47,891 the previous month.

However, while July’s figure is a 53% rise on the number of loans approved in July 2008, the figure fell short of analysts forecasts of 51,000, and is still well below levels seen at the peak of the housing boom two years ago.

In the meantime, there was a slight rise in the number of people remortgaging, with approvals increasing to 35,206 during the month, according to the Bank of England.

Last week, the British Bankers’ Association said mortgage approvals had reached a 17-month high in July.

Furthermore, the Land Registry reported a rise in house prices in England and Wales. The organisation compiles its data from completed transactions and therefore lags behind other monitors of the housing market but is seen as the most authoritative.

It said house prices rose by 1.7% in July compared with June - the largest amount in five years and takes the annual fall in prices to 11.7% in July, easing from the 13.8% in June.