Mortgage approvals boom in March
Adding further credence to reports of a buoyant housing market, a new survey has shown mortgage approvals jumped last month.
The British Bankers' Association said its monthly survey showed the number of approvals for home purchases in Britain jumped to its highest level in nearly two years in March.
The BBA said the number of loans agreed but not yet completed totalled 85,698 in March, up 33% on a year earlier and up from 57,585 in February. Its the highest read since since June 2004.
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BBA director of statistics David Dooks said, "Whilst partly reflecting the high number of working days in the month, the approvals numbers show that mortgage activity is running at a higher level than at this time last year, although the market is still somewhat short of the heady times of 2004."
The BBA also confirmed March's rise in seasonally-adjusted net mortgage lending, originally published last week, at £5.4bn, also the highest in nearly two years.
