UK mortgage approvals rise in April
Figures out today showed UK lending growth still below its average for the past six months in April, although the number of loans taken out for house purchases, excluding remortgages, improved.
The number of mortgage approvals came in 1% higher during the month on the same time last year to 64,815, according to the British Bankers Association, with the value of loans approved up 10% to £9.9bn.
But this was lower than the 75,098 and £11.3bn reported in March and was taken by analysts as a sign of a possible slowdown in the UK housing market.
"The latest three months have seen net mortgage lending stabilise, with rises below the average of the previous six months," said BBA director of statistics David Dooks.
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"The picture from approvals points to mortgage demand weakening further as the year progresses and the cumulative effect of higher interest rates bites harder."
UK interest rates have risen four times since last August to 5.5% and are widely tipped to hit 5.75% soon.
Tuesday's data also showed the total number of mortgages approved for all purposes up to 169,784 in April from 168,830 a year earlier.
Net mortgage lending grew by an underlying £5bn versus £5.1bn the month before and below the £5.4bn six month average.
