Insurance News Archive

Mortgage lending rises to £3.9bn in February

Britain's high street banks approved more loans for house purchase in February, lending £3.9 billion to purchasers, according to the latest statistics.

The net value of financing was up from £3.4 billion in January, with 28,179 mortgages approved during February, compared to 24,278 the month before, the British Bankers' Association (BBA) figures show.

David Brooks, statistics director for the BBA, says the higher number of loans being approved for house purchase is reflective of the high street banks' higher market share.

Annual growth in mortgage lending rose by 9.8 per cent, although the number of loans approved for buying property last month was still down by 31 per cent compared to February 2008.

Simon Rubinsohn, chief economist at the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, says the figures show the increase in buyer interest is channelling into transactions.

"Even so, the actual level of activity still remains not that far away from historic lows and it would be premature to conclude that some semblance of order has returned to the housing market," he concludes.

24 Mar 2009