LONDON - Consumer reluctance to borrow money is at the lowest level in 11 years, but the mortgage lending market is shaping up nicely towards the New Year, official figures released by the Bank of England confirmed.
Mortgage lending hit the £28.2 billion mark in November as the housing market headed for sunnier days, while unsecured borrowing was recorded to be just £927 million, one of the lowest levels in five years. This figure was £300 million less than what was seen in October as consumers tightened their wallets approaching the holiday season.
This data from the BoE did not clarify matters as far as the direction of the interest rates was concerned. But the figures did point to a definite revival in the property markets, "The rise in mortgage approvals should provide further support to house prices, at least over the next few months," said John Butler of HSBC. "But the slowdown in net consumer credit, at a time when disposable income growth is being squeezed, should keep a lid on any meaningful consumer recovery through the first half of 2006."
The figures also show that 115,000 new mortgages were approved in November as against the 113,000 recorded in October. This is the highest approval rate since May 2004 and is 50 percent more than what was registered in November 2004. The net mortgage lending in November was £8.69 billion, again the biggest increase in this parameter since July 2004. It is estimated that the Bank will wait for the Christmas data to come in before deciding on the direction of the interest rates which currently stand at 4.5 percent.
Posted
on : Sun, 08 Jan 2006 14:00 GMT | Credit Cards News
By : Rob Davis
|
