LONDON: There is substantial evidence that the property market lm Britain has stabilised. Approvals of mortgage has gone up by 17 per cent in September compared with the same period last year, according to the British Bankers' Association (BBA).
Mortgage approvals -- the number of loans sanctioned but not yet utilised -- is a key indicator of the prospects of the property market.
Data compiled by BBA showed that the approvals increased to 70,105 in September from 69,499 in August and 59,905 a year ago.
BBA said the increase was revised slightly lower to 4.9 billion pounds from 5 billion pounds originally reported last week, but this was the highest figure for the whole year. Re-mortgaging too reached the highest monthly total since March 2004 and it was higher than the number of loans offered for house purchases.
BBA's director of statistics David Dooks said two-year fixed rate loans taken during the buoyant period of 2003 were maturing around now and borrowers are seeking out new options. "The outlook for consumer borrowing remains subdued, with card usage modest in comparison with recent years," he added.
New borrowing on credit cards totalled 7.4 billion pounds, 8 per cent less than in August.
Unsecured borrowing was somewhat subdued, with net lending on loans and overdrafts rising by 0.4 billion pounds in September, against 0.7 billion pounds recorded in August.
Repayments were also lower, and when seasonally adjusted the increase in net lending over the month, a figure of 108 million pounds, was above the recent average of 75 million pounds.
Posted
on : Fri, 28 Oct 2005 09:25 GMT | Mortgages News
By : Mike Lawson
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